


A Christmas Carol

by FraBee



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Hange Zoë Being Hange Zoë, Levi-centric (Shingeki no Kyojin), M/M, Pining Eren Yeager, Poltergeist! Erwin, Prostitute Eren Yeager, Rich Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Sacrifice, Secretary Eren, Sick Armin, Spirit of Christmas past!Christa, Spirit of Christmas present! Sasha, There wasn't supposed to be smut but whatevs, Top Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), ereri, riren - Freeform, riren smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-11 05:32:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8956360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FraBee/pseuds/FraBee
Summary: Levi Ackerman hated a lot of things: people, dirt, noise, crowded spaces, wasting his money on things like paying his employees, getting together with his relatives...But there came a time of they year in which all these things came together, a time he despised with a passion: Christmas.Which was, undoubtedly, the dumbest, most expensive and irritating holiday of them all.So, like every year, he refused to go spend time with his nephew (Farlan Church) and made his secretary (Eren Jaeger) stay in the office 'till late on Christmas Eve, not caring if the younger had plans that night.He knew everyone hated him, avoided him, but that's exactly what Levi wanted: to be left alone.But on that Christmas Eve the spirit of his dead colleague (Erwin Smith) and three others (Historia Reiss as the ghost of Christmas past, Sasha Brauss as the ghost of Christmas present, and I have no idea who the ghost of Christmas to Come is) will change his mind, but most importantly his heart.





	1. I

So here it is again, that time of the year when men, women and all others seem to forget about their troubles and sorrows, as thoughts of peace and good will warm their hearts and their spirits.

Indeed, it was the time of year when the grey pavements of a dull city such as London were suddenly lined with the twinkling silver of snow, with glittering fairy lights strung across the buildings and a feeling of general merriness in the crowds; just like every year, Christmas was destined to be a happy time full of peace and jubilation.

At least... that's what Christmas is supposed to be symbolically, but for most people it means buying presents one month in advance for sixteen different cousins they can never remember the names of, spending a whole day on choosing a Christmas tree or building the fake one they kept in a box in the attic for the past year; for others it's making a costume for their kid's Christmas play, only to find out later that their kid is 'Tree Number Three' and then needing to sit through the entire show, having to deal with other people's offspring afterwards.

Maybe it's the right time to ask for that promotion you've always wanted, the time to tell that special someone that you've been pining after them since forever, or maybe even the ideal time to propose (just not outside goddamn it, it's too cold for that shit).

However you look at it, just some commercial holiday designed for us to spend more and more each year, the celebration of the actual birth of Christ because, come on that is the true meaning (actually, the pagans invented Christmas so...), or whatever the fuck else, almost anyone would agree that it is a time to be together.

And yet, on the days leading up to the big event, whilst the crowds were gathering to sing and the children ran about in the falling snow, there was a floating speck of grey in the swarms of smiling people. It was an umbrella, quite bleak in colour, draped in snow and its owner, who was also quite bleak was coated in nothing but frost.

This cold man I would quite like to call a grinch but for Levi Ackerman, a lonely mean businessman who had a heart as cold as stone, the colour green would have been a tad too bright. For this reason, we shall name him a scrooge. The frigidness inside him froze his face with its pale skin, icy grey eyes and furrowed brow making everything about him like a stone wall: lifeless and emotionally impenetrable. When he spoke, which was rarely for his own enjoyment, he always spoke with a harsh voice and carried his low temperature in his tone with him. Nothing on this Earth could warm him or make him colder than he already was.

He had no patience for people, felt no kindness nor compassion. Everyone who knew him, but even those who so much as glanced at him knew straight away it was best not to fuck with him. Levi didn't mind this, in fact, people keeping away from him was all he asked for, all he wanted.

Needless to say, Christmas was not something he enjoyed. At all. Not the sounds of laughing children, nor the smell of pine trees in supermarkets could make him smile- yes, not even the sight of Christmas lights wherever he went could draw a curve from his lips.

Maybe it was his ignorance, but he truly could not understand why people were so engrossed into preaching about all that was good and kind when, as hard as it was to comprehend, bad things happened on Christmas too, even if it is the holiday of the jolly fat man.

Those were the thoughts that had crossed his mind when he was told the news about his business partner, Erwin Smith, being brutally murdered in the streets on Christmas day. Mr. Ackerman had found out about ten hours after the murder occurred when he found a few extra thousand pounds in his bank account. Upon asking, the rich businessman found that majority of the funds were from Erwin, left in his will to go to his business partner and the rest of it was from the killer himself. It was blood money, but money nonetheless to Levi.

It had only taken a few moments for the man to work out the reason behind his partner's death. And what was that reason you ask? His wallet of course. People were more than prepared to kill others for money, even in this modern era, and Levi knew this far too well; he knew that humanity would always have bad intentions, no matter the time of the year.

Tsk, peace and good will my ass.

Erwin had been dead for six years and his passing hadn't affected Levi all that much so the raven didn't think much of it. Although he did miss the other man a little as a business partner simply for the fact that Erwin had been the only person he'd been able to tolerate, since the man had been a very similar person to himself: solitary, stingy and professional to the upmost.

So as a sign of respect he'd gone to Erwin's funeral, sat through the ceremony, refusing to make a speech and then watched his coffin be lowered into the earth below. It was only later that he realised he had been the only person there. Erwin Smith's name had truly vanished from the world, save for his name on the company's sign that Levi kept on the building to that very day.

After that he went on living life as usual, avoiding his family like the plague, ignoring his neighbours as they said hello to him in the morning and making life hell for his coworkers, especially his secretary, a young man named Eren Jaeger.

As much as Levi tried to assocciate as little as possible with his employees so they didn't irritate him, Eren just seemed to do it effortlessly. Every. Single. Day.

He didn't know what it was about Eren that made him so mad: his winsome smile, gorgeous caribbean eyes or maybe just the feeling of contagious happiness that the boy radiated. All he knew was that Eren Jaeger had a way of making him weak and therefore he Levi needed to keep as far away from him as possible. Levi would have loved to do nothing more than fire the brat's ass except that the brunette did his job very well and he had no legible reason to let him go- apart from the state of his sanity, of course. And, so, the man simply decided he would simply have to reinforce his social walls to ensure his secretary didn't get to him.

That was rather hard to accomplish when he saw Eren on a daily basis.

Yes, every single dawning day, the brat always insisted on being kind and patient with Levi, never cowering under the other's icy stare or giving up on treating Levi as a friend (even if Levi would stress that they definitely were not friends) instead of a menace; it truly irritated his boss but Eren was so blissfully oblivious, nobody cared to point out that he should stop. Or rather, nobody wanted to because they all knew exactly why Eren did it, except from Levi Ackerman himself.

But one Christmas eve, he pushed the raven too far out of his 'comfort zone' (though we doubt Mr. Ackerman was ever comfortable) and that is when our story begins....

  
Levi heard three knocks at his office door and shouted an abrupt,

"What." Honestly, he didn't need nor want a reply

"Merry Christmas uncle!" A jolly voice came from the other side of the door.

"Tsk, what nonsense." The happiness in the voice took him off guard a little and he cringed in disgust at the positive tone.

"Will you let me in uncle?" The happiness had not left the young man's voice to Levi's disappointment.

Levi simply rolled his eyes. "It's open."

The door opened, revealing a tall blonde boy in his late teens.

"Why are you here Farlan?" Levi knew exactly why the boy was there: Farlan had been trying to call him for the past six months but all his calls had been ignored. But, hey, ignorance is bliss.

"To invite you over for Christmas dinner of course! Dad will be there and his new girlfriend too, I'm sure he can't wait to introduce you to her."

"He's got a new one now, has he? Tsk, what a surprise."

"What do you mean by that uncle?" Farlan tilted his head in confusion, smile still on his face, but Levi simply a hook his head,

"Oh, it's nothing."

What Levi was cursing in that moment was the vile man that Farlan called his father who, after only four months after the death of Levi's sister and Farlan's mother, had entered a new relationship. Now, Levi wouldn't have minded as much if his nephew's father was a loyal and faithful man but he was quite the contrary, skipping between women on a weekly basis.

"So will you come uncle?" Farlan's hopeful time stirred Mr. Ackerman.

Levi knew deep down a young boy like his nephew needed at least one stable parent figure in his life, and his father definitely was not that person. He should have done right by his sister and been there for Farlan, but every time he looked at that boy he could see her face, hear her voice, and Levi hated to be reminded of something he could never get back. It was this thought that made him dismiss the idea.

"No, now get out. Good day to you Farlan."

Levi dropped his gaze back down to the papers he'd been signing.

"No...? Then maybe we could spend a day in town together next week or-"

The man slammed a hand on his desk, looking up at his nephew. "God damn it, I said get out before I call your father." He growled.

Farlan sighed in defeat but tried not to let his sadness show, so he recomposed himself, giving his uncle a smile once again. "A Merry Christmas to you then."

"Yes, you've already said that."

"And happy new year uncle!" He waved and left Levi's office before the other could throw a stapler at him.

Levi shook his head in annoyance.

"I'd be a fool to be merry."

~

"Merry Christmas Eren!"

The brunet snapped his head up to find his boss's nephew who had passed by his cubicle after leaving his uncle's office

"A Merry Christmas to you too Mr. Church." Eren gave the other a small wave and a warm smile even though the room he was working in was freezing cold.

"How many times Eren? Please call me Farlan." The blonde ogled at him. Eren knew, had always known that the younger had a slight crush on him so he always tried to be careful in what he said. "Are you doing anything for-"

There was a sound of someone clearing their throat behind them.

Eren thanked whatever deity who saved him from being asked out on a date by his boss's barely legal nephew.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Came Hanji's voice.

"Well actually I was just-" Farlan tried to say but they interrupted him again.

"Farlan! How long has it been? You look handsome!" Hanji elbowed him in the ribs. "Anyway leave my little Eren here alone, he's got tons of paperwork to do still. No thanks to your uncle."

"I wanted to ask him something-"

"Well tell you what you can ask him tonight, there's a party here at the office. Top floor. Midnight. Be there."

Farlan looked at them a bit uncertain. "Well okay then, thank you. I'll see you guys later."

"Bye."

"Bye sweetie." Hanji waved him off. Once he was gone, they turned to Eren.

"Looks like someone's a little bit of a heartbreaker." They teased the brunet. "Messing with the boss's cute nephew?"

"What? No, Hanji! You know he's not the o-one I..." Eren rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I mean..."

"The one you've been in love with for the past three years? Yeah I know hon, I was kidding."

"Lower your voice! What if he hears you?" Eren looked around nervously.

"Oh so what? After tonight you're gonna make that grumpy little man yours, I know it Eren. Remember as we rehearsed: take a deep breath and believe in yourself."

"Hanji I... still don't think this is a good idea. What if he takes it the wrong way?"

"Eren what's the worst he could do? Scowl a little and eventually join in the party? Hon trust me this is your chance to win his heart."

"Your chance to win whose heart?"

The blood froze in Eren's veins at the sound of that voice.

"Heyyy Levi!"

"O-oh Mr. Ackerman, w-we were just..." A blush crept up Eren's neck as he looked everywhere but into his employer's eyes.

"Not working. That's what you were doing."

"Levi, there's no reason to get mad alright? I distracted Eren from his duties." Hanji lifted up their hands in admittance.

"I don't care, Jaeger doesn't get to blab about his loverboy, on my time, money and heartache. "

A deadly silence fell over the three of them. Eren swore his heart had skipped a few beats.

The raven on the other side immediately back tracked, why had he even said such a thing?

"Headache, I meant to say headache. Anyway Hanji, we need you in the meeting room." And with that he left the room. For some reason his palms had been sweating so he refrained from grabbing his crazy colleague by the collar and dragging them out of the room.

Why was he so bothered by the fact that Eren had been talking about his someone he had feelings for? After all it was normal for others to fall in love, just not for him.

Then what was this heaviness he felt in his chest?

~

"Off for the evening sir?"

It was ten past eleven and the building was pretty much empty.

Levi had hoped Eren would have let him walk out the door in peace, but apparently his secretary still had enough energy in him to chat.

"Look Jaeger, you're not getting a raise if that's where this is going."

And yes, maybe Eren did deserve a raise for all the excessive work Levi dumped on his desk on a daily basis, for always working long hours, for keeping a smile on his face and being patient even when Levi insulted him for no reason whatsoever.

"Oh no sir, I just wanted to wish you merry christmas and also happy birthday since tomorrow is---"

"Yes, I'm aware of what tomorrow is." Levi snapped. "Just another excuse for people to waste valueable time and money, and for what?"

Eren opened his mouth to reply but Levi raised his hand, cutting him off.

"Don't answer that Jaeger, it was a rhetorical question."

The other nodded in defeat and remained quiet, even if his bright eyes where still shining with what looked like hope.

Hope for what?, Levi asked himself.

And with that he left, hearing a faint 'Goodnight sir' coming from behind him but not bothering to reply.

~

It was almost midnight and Levi was walking up the steps of his house. He felt like he was being observed, but didn't pay much thought to it since his phone started ringing in his pocket.

"The fuck is this now?" He grumbled to himself. "Levi speaking."

"LEVI! Oh God, get here quick!" Hanji shouted from the other line.

"Why would I? And where exactly is 'here'?"

"There's been a break-in at the office, someone has been through your documents and a few of them are missing."

"WHAT?"

"Eren was still there and he tried to stop them but he got beaten up. When he regained consciousness they were already gone."

"He.. He was still there?" Levi didn't understand why his voice cracked as he uttered that sentence but he had no time to dwell on it since Hanji was still talking to him.

"Yeah, look Levi I need you to get here as soon as you can because there are somethings which need to be signed in your name. Also it would be best if you come to check which of your files are missing, oh and... Would it be a bother if you drove Eren back home? He's in no condition to walk back and I need to stay here to sort this shit out..."

Levi assumed this was Hanji's way of saying 'you're the reason he'd been there till late therefore it's your fault he got attacked, would it be too much for you to drive the poor guy home?'

A crippling feeling settled at the pit of his stomach but he chose to ignore it once again.

Jaeger had been attacked so what?

All he had to do was go there, sign a few documents, check what had been stolen and drive Eren Jaeger have since no-one else could.

What could go wrong?

"Levi, Levi are you still there?" Hanji said.

"I'm on my way." He hung up on them and drove back to his office.

~

As he walked up the stairs to his office, Levi spotted a few police officers in the hall who werw talking to Hanji.

"Levi, there you are!" They rushed towards him. "The cops kinda need to talk to you too, but just go wait in the lunch room with Eren, I'll come call you in a minute."

"You know, I could just... stand quietly over here till you're done talking to them."

"No, I think it's best if you stay with Eren for a bit, he's still in shock and seeing a familiar face will probably do him some good."

I don't think  he wants to see me of all people right now, Levi thought to himself but walked towards the lunch room anyway.

The raven thought about the fact that Eren was now a changed person, and probably will never go back to being his gentle and caring self.

And if Levi wouldn't get mad at every perfect little thing Eren did, maybe the brunet wouldn't have been working till late. He would be sleeping in the comfort and warmth of his bed.

Still, he told himself, these things happen.

It wasn't his fault... right?

He finally walked into the lunch room. The lights were off and the only thing he could make out was a tall, lanky figure sitting down on one of the stools and clutching his head in his hands. The figure didn't seem to notice Levi right away.

Levi switched on the lights. "Jaeger are you-"

"SURPRISE!" A room full of people shouted as soon as the lights were on.

There were balloons, party hats, a big ass cake, vast quantities of alcohol and an enormous banners on the wall that said: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEVINE, with the final "ne" crossed out.

He could see all of his colleagues minus Hanji, but also a few people he swore he'd never seen in his life.

Levi was still un shock, staring at them all like a deer in the headlights and he came back down to Earth only once he heard Hanju skip into the rooom.

"Happy birthday my little shrimp!"

"This, is why you called me here?"

"Yes we wanted to organise a fabulous party for you. Knowing it would have been hard to convince you to come, we told you a little white lie instead."

"A little white lie?" Levi said through gritted teeth. "You made me believe that..." that Eren had been hurt. Come on say it you coward.

Levi hated this. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. He wanted to dissapear, whished this whole thing had never been organised.

What did these people even want from him?

"I thought someone had actually..."

Eren heard the evident distress in Levi’s voice and decided to step into the conversation since Hanji wasn't doing a great job at calming the man down.

"Sir, Hanji and I, we wanted to do something special for your birthday. We're sorry if you might have gotten worried about your documents but all really wanted to spend some time with you." Eren smiled nervously, having Levi's ice cold stare on him. "Everyone brought something to eat or to drink, Petra and Olou made the cake..." the brunet pointed at the couple who smiled and waved at them. "... Jean forgot to make the banner so he ordered one at the last minute from ebay. We know it says Levine on it but please don't be mad about that."

"Jaeger you snitch! You said you wouldn't tell him." Jean yelled from the other side of the room but there was no malice in his words, infact everyone in the room started laughing. Except from Levi of course.

"Jean's uncompetitiveness aside - we hope you enjoy the party boss." Eren finished his speech, giving Levi now a bright confident smile.

After listening to everything Eren had to say Levi’s blank expression had not changed.  
Why had he been so worried for someone who only probably wanted a raise or to be given a better position in the company from him? Someone who had gone as far as telling Levi he had been attacked to get what he wanted?  
Tonight had been the first time Levi had worried for someone in a long time and it was all just a lie.

"Are you done yapping now Jaeger?" He spat. "Because I really can't take any more of your crap. You keep pushing to get me to like you, what makes you think I would ever take a liking to a whiny, over emotional and pathetic brat like you? I pitied your sorry ass so I gave you this job but I am so done with dealing with your bullshit!"

Eren could feel himself about to breakdown and cry at any moment. He wanted the ground to swallow him up, away from Levi's cruel words.

The raven turned to the rest of his employees.

"I was just about to fire the lot of you but you can all thank Jaeger for stepping up and admittimg this whole shit fest was his fault, so I'm only firing him instead."

Everyone was staring at Levi in horror, everyone except Eren who was staring at the ground and trying to suppress the sobs that where coming out of his mouth.

"What's the matter Jaeger? Sad you've just lost your job? I'm sure you'll do just fine on the streets where rubbish like you belongs."

Levi walked passed him, heading towards the door.

That will teach them never to mess with me again, Levi thought.

And Jaeger... Jaeger needed to go. Levi could no longer feel so vulnerable because of someone. He needed to get that boy out of his system before it was too late.

"Enjoy your break everyone, I'll be sure to make it hell for you all when you get back."

He walked out the door and no-one made any effort to stop him.

 

 

 


	2. II

In the poor light Levi took out his key to open the door to his house.

He certainly was not a man of imagination, but as he put the key in the lock, instead of seeing his door-knocker, he saw the face of his own business partner, Erwin Smith.

Erwin looked up at Levi with ghostly eyes, which were almost hidden under his bushy eyebrows. His face had a terrible blue colour, which was horrible to see, but as Levi looked closer, it disappeared and became a knocker again.

'What on Earth?' Levi asked himself. But unlocked the door and walked inside nonetheless.

He took off his coat and shoes, heading straight to his bedroom without even turning on the light. Sure, it might be unsafe to walk around without any lights on, but Levi liked the darkness. It was cheap.

Heading towards his room, he got out of his clothes and folded them neatly on his bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

He stepped under a jet of ice cold water as he would never think of wasting money on such a silly thing as warm water, and as he lathered his head with shampoo, he suddenly heard a terrible sound coming from outside the room. It was a metallic noise, almost as if someone had been walking in chains. He turned the water off, and listened to see if he was just hearing things. No sound could be heard, so he returned to showering, but as soon as the water was running again, the noise re-echoed throughout his house louder than before.

He hurriedly stepped out of the shower and put on a bath robe. Once he left the bathroom, he walked around his house to check if anyone ha broken in, but everything seemed to be in place.

He entered the bathroom once again to brush his teeth, but he could feel a presence in the room with him. He turned to take a look around the bathroom, but once again everything seemed to be as it was supposed to. However, when he looked back into his mirror, he was met with the same pair of eyes he had seen in the door knocker and he jumped back startled, spitting out all the remaining toothpaste he had in his month in the process.

He quickly rinsed and tried off his face, before leaving the bathroom, yet he found no peace once he walked back into his bedroom: there, hovering right next to his bed, was the ghost of Erwin Smith.

Levi let out a surprised yelp which he was glad nobody else was around to hear. He covered his face with his hands.

"It's bullshit, you're just imagining this Levi. Ignore it and it will go away."

"Oh really? I assure you I'll still be here weather or not you choose to ignore me."

'By God, it speaks.' Levi shuddered. 'just deal with this like a rational person, many people experience hallucinations and if you get aggravated you'll only make it worse.'

Levi decided to finally look at Erwin properly: he was dressed in what used to be his old business suit and he was also wearing a very long chain around him made out of piggy banks, safes and credit card machines. The raven also noticed Erwin's body was transparent and that his blond hair was standing up; even after witnessing all this, he still would not believe any of it.

"What do you want with me?" Asked Levi as cold s ever.

"Much!" Cried Erwin's ghost. "But first I must ask you why, why do you not believe in me? Why do you doubt your senses?"

"Because I probably got indigestion and now I'm hallucinating, that's all."

"Are you? Tell me what did you have for dinner?"

"... a salad."

"Do you seriously believe you got indigestion by eating a salad?"

"No... but I'm starting to."

At this the Spirit made an awful noise and shook its chain but to Erwin's surprise, Levi looked completely unaffected.

"I hope those chains of yours won't actually mark my floor or I will bring you back to life just to kill you again."

Erwin was about to say no, and go back to telling Levi about why he was really here, when suddenly he remembered something he was sure would make the raven show him a little more respect.

"No, but I can do this." Erwin suddenly disappeared and a loud bang was immediately heard from Levi's kitchen.

The raven rushed inside only to find Erwin standing calmly in the middle of the room.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Erwin?"

The ghost simply turned around to put a few tea bags inside Levi's kettle. "Oh nothing, I just missed making myself a cup of tea..." Once the kettle whistled, Erwin turned back to look at Levi. "I'm going to give you one last chance to listen to what I have to say." He cleared his voice. "The spirit of every man must walk with others in life and travel far; if not, in death he must constantly travel the world wearing the chains he..."

"So all you fuckers do is walk around in chains all day?"

"Well-"

"Hmm kinky."

The spirit lost his patience, so he grabbed the kettle and started pouring tea all over Levi's kitchen floor. "Oops."

"YOU SICK JERK!" The raven screeched and rushed to stop Erwin, but he suddenly felt his boxers being pulled so far up his ass, he cries oit at the discomfort.

He had just been given a fucking wedgie, and Erwin hadn't as much as moved a muscle from where he was standing. Well except for the fact he was now laughing his ass off.

"Aren't you supposed to be in pain and carrying out your eternal punishment?" Levi spat.

"Yes, but I got special permission to come warn you about your future and since I only have a few more minutes, I'll use any method necessary to get you to listen."

"Ugh, fine! Just promise me you'll leave me in peace after this."

"Of course." Erwin nodded. "I had always known that if there even was such a thing as the afterlife, I would not be rewarded for the man I was, but I never thought I'd have to spend eternity looking upon the happiness I could have had and the people I could have helped... saved even."

Levi stayed quiet at this . It really did sound like the worse of tortures.

"... I realised that no-one cared for me, you were the only one at my funeral and I assume it was just because you had nothing to do that Friday-"

The raven snapped up at this. "Well boo-hoo Erwin, what did you expect? The world is happy to get rid of people like us. I for one am glad that I will leave no-one to morn my death-"

"That's where you're wrong. You have friends who have known you since college and never stopped believing that you'll one day go back to being the man you used to be. You have a young nephew who idolises you and needs you in his life. Finally even a boy whose heart you stole... do you think all those people will rejoice in finding out you died?"

"What are you even saying Erwin? How could anyone be so stupid to fall for me?"

Erwin sighed, shaking his head. "My time in this world is almost up." He looked directly into Levi's eyes. "You will be visited." He raised his voice. "By three spirits. With their visits you will find the answer that you seek and... maybe even a chance of redemption."

Levi rolled his eyes a little, but truth be told he was now very afraid of what would happen once these other freaks showed up. In fact, he even went to the bother of asking his former partner what time they would be visiting him as, obviously, the raven had a very very busy schedule to uphold.

"The first spirit comes at the toll of one o'clock. Be ready." Levi opened his mouth to complain about needing his sleep before Erwin's spirit jumped out of the window and disappeared into the night with one last metallic noise that left the other man with an irritable ringing in his ears.

He stood there, semi-clad in his bath towel still, for a few more moments, staring aimlessly into the space where Erwin once was. Turning to the kitchen counter, he picked up his phone and checked the time- 11:37pm. He growled,

"For fu-" but stopped himself under the paranoia that the ghost was still watching him. Thinking this, he looked down at his bathrobe uncomfortably before hurriedly jumping into bed and pulling up his covers to preserve his dignity. He cursed Mr. Smith a few times, calling him a 'pervert' before falling quickly to sleep.

That is, until he woke up an exact hour and thirteen minutes later at 12:50am to his utter dismay. He tossed and turned and tossed again before coming to the conclusion that sleep was utterly impossible at that point. It was nearly 1:00am and, remembering Erwin's earlier words, he decided to stay up till' then, just to see what happened. Hopefully, nothing would actually happen but he just wanted to absolutely solidify the possibility that he was going mad.

And, finally, one o'clock.

"And thank God for that." However, Levi spoke just before the alarm tone sounded and, as it did a half-second later, there was a bright flash in the room that almost blinded the man.

When the light cleared, he saw a bright figure in front of him, feminine in appearance. As he squinted, he saw a gentle face with blonde hair falling gently down to her shoulders. The eyes opened, revealing two pale blue irises staring right at Levi. He swallowed. But then, as if something clicked, the mysterious figure gasped in alarm and looked away.

"Sorry...that was too intense..." Levi raised a brow- this timid thing was supposed to scare him into 'changing his ways'? She cleared her throat delicately before introducing herself, "I'm the ghost of Christmas Past...um...hello." The man watched, unamused as she, or rather, it spoke for he was quite unsure as to what exactly was in front of him.

"That's your name?" the spirit blinked in confusion before nodding. "Pft, honestly with a crappy name like that I really don't think I can trust you, I'm going back to sleep." He turned and as soon as he did there was a sudden ringing noise and the spirit appeared right in front of him again. Twirling it's hair patiently, it smiled innocently at him.

"Well, Mr. Ackerman, I hope you can because we are about to go on an adventure!" the blue eyes lit up in excitement. Levi, however, just rolled his eyes and continued walking.

"One sec, I need to get my fly spray out: annoying fairy edition." The ghost sighed.

"I guess I have no choice..." Just then, he was lifted off his feet and forcefully carried out onto his balcony and elevated so that he was floating just above the railings.

"What the fucking hell is this you little demon wretch of a tinkerbell!? Put me down, you sicko!" the spirit laughed with excitement.

"We are going to be flying, Mr. Ackerman!" The floating stopped and Levi landed with one foot on the cold metal. He hopped from foot to foot in an attempt to deal with the coldness of the painted steel. As he stood on the edge, he yelped and began to scream at the spirit.

"Are you actually mad!? This is suicide, not bloody flying, you hag!"

"If only I could lighten your heart just as quick as I could lighten your feet." Levi looked down at the busy street below before looking back at the spirit; he did this several times before grimacing and speaking more to himself than anyone else,

"I'm so done with this crap." And there he was, stepping off his balcony ledge and plummeting to the earth below. Whilst he was falling, he heard a twinkling whoosh and suddenly the gravity bringing him down seemed to just...stop. He opened his eyes only to have to blink them several times as the bright spirit was beside him once again. This time, her gentle expression was gone and she simply shook her head before replying to his earlier comment,

"So am I." Levi looked down and realised that, no, he was not motionless (or dead, for that matter) but instead flying over the city, watching the lights dance across his blurry vision. He became aware of the cold against his skin and regretted how uptight he had been with his underwear budget: perhaps the hand-made designer boxers he had seen in that posh department store earlier would have been warmer for this certain occasion. Nevertheless, he carried on through the night, blonde ghost beside him and compelling him forward with whatever magicky-doo-dah dead things had.

"We're almost at your first shadow..." he heard her whisper and he looked ahead to see lots of trees but also, beyond that, an old stone building stood in the middle of a clearing. Levi's eyes widened and the Ghost of Christmas Past observed him carefully. "You remember this place?"

"Remember?" the man was stunned. "More like I know it as if it was only yesterday..." With his words, the feminine spirit sighed, making a tinkling wind blow around them. Her pale eyes looked downwards as she spoke,

"And, yet, forgotten for all these years." The businessman grunted but said nothing in reply. Indeed, the man remembered this place well for it was his old boarding school, situated in the middle of nowhere, left alone in all its solitude. As much as he would prefer not to admit, Levi did actually relate to the old place in that sense.

Closer and closer they flew until they were headed straight to the walls of the building. Actually, scratch that, they were headed straight at the walls of the building. First of all, the raven really didn't want to infiltrate an all-boys boarding school in his underwear but was, at the moment, more concerned with the fact that the brick wall approaching them seemed solid enough to squish him flatter than a pancake.

"Relax. I've got majicky-doo-dah with me, remember?" Levi shook his head in confusion and amazement.

"How did you-" Bam. They were through the wall and stood (well, floating) in one of the corridors of the school. He recognized this one in particular for it was the one least used by the teachers and therefore the most isolated one. Basically, the one he had liked the best back then.

"Shall we?" Levi looked over at the spirit who sent him an encouraging look to go on. He did. One step at a time, listening to the loud echoes of his footsteps on the tile floor. A few metres down the hall, he came to a door that was ajar. He did know the saying about curiosity killing the cat, but Levi here disliked the idea of being compared to such a lazy, useless creature and, so, stepped into the room without hesitation.

The door led to a classroom, a rather large one at that. On the right wall, there were many windows, all of which had their blinds opened to reveal the snowy forest beyond the school perimeters. There were many desks around the room but only one was in use at that moment. There, sat at the back of the classroom was a young boy of around ten years old. He had black hair with bangs coming to the middle of his brow and slight bags under his eyes. His aura was one only a lonely child could have: cold and sad in a bittersweet way. In the boy's hand was a leather bound book which was tattered by age and use. Levi swallowed.

"I remember that book...Robinson Crusoe, was it not?" The ghost nodded.

"Yes, for that child is you." Levi watched on in silence before a noise outside turned his attention to the window. All of a sudden, a snowball flew past the glass and made a thudding noise as it hit something out of view. From the same direction, a flurry of young boys came from around the corner, shouting and laughing in a large group. Meanwhile, young Levi kept his head down into his book, turning a blind eye to the fun happening outside. The spirit sent him a knowing look.

"Tch. I was just dumb back then." He turned away with a click of his tongue as the blonde spirit shook their head.

"Grown men are dumb, children are simply lost." There was reason to her words that the man didn't admit. "You remember how you left here, right?"

"Yes...it was because of-"

"Big Bro!" and there she was; a noisy pair of bright red pigtails running to hug him as a child. Bright green eyes and a beaming smile enveloped him as memories came rushing back.

"Izzie...what are you doing here?" Levi was older now but only by a few years, his voice was still young, youthful, and innocent. His younger self seemed surprised to see the girl but he was making no attempt to hide the large smile on his face.

"You're coming back home, big bro, with me! I spoke to step-father and-and-" Levi flinched at the mention and Isabel, being a younger child, picked up on the slight movement. "Ah, don't worry, he's a lot gentler now...I even had the courage to ask him if you could come home!" she rocked on the balls of her feet, beaming as she spoke on and on about how much she had missed him whilst her brother just stood in silence, watching. Eventually she noticed and enquired curiously as to what was wrong.

"N-Nothing," he said. "I'm just glad to see you again..." the boy was on the verge of tears and, so, the little redhead ran up to hug him before realising that he was much taller and harder to reach than he was before. A giggle was heard from beside the older man as he watched his younger self.

"Things certainly do change, don't they, Mr. Ackerman?" The thin eyebrows of the man twitched as he looked again at the two siblings in the image.

"I swear to god if you're talking about my height..." The ghost shook their head (though, secretly they were) and Levi nodded, turning back before his features softened slightly. "I miss Izzie."

"She was your sister, right?" he nodded slowly.

"The only family I had left."

"That's not true, you have her child...your nephew, that is." Levi froze and his eyes widened momentarily before he uneasily answered with a quick 'yes'.

The next picture he saw was of him in front of the headmaster, head down and focused entirely on the suitcase in front of him. When he was done packing, the boy looked up for approval from the master, only getting a rough grunt thrown his way. At the door, Isabel stood, waiting patiently.

"Hurry up and let big bro leave already!" Or not so patiently...

Soon, however, the siblings were in a car ready to head back home. Younger Levi hugged his sister whilst the older one watching wished he could do the same.

"Shall we move on?" The tired man nodded unattentively.

The Spirit took his hand and they were now in the middle of a busy city and it was Christmas time again. They stopped in front of a large door.

"Look!" Said Levi. "I was an apprentice here in this office! And there's dear old Pixis! Pixis alive again!"

As they went in, the old gentleman called out in a warm and friendly voice, "Levi! Eld!"

A young Levi and another boy soon appeared.

"I am grateful you boys helped me with tonight's party, everyone is enjoying themselves and it's all thanks to you."

"You're welcome sir." Eld replied.

"It was certainly not a problem sir." Said Levi.

Pixis chuckled and ruffled their hair. "Go have fun then boys."

Wishing their boss a good evening once again, they made way to the centre of the room to greet rest of the guests.

Once everyone was a little tipsy they all started dancing. Even Levi, who Eld had drunkenly introduced to a petite strawberry blonde, had the time of his life and danced the night away.

When it was time to leave, Pixis stood by the door wishing everyone a good evening and a Merry Christmas.

"Mr. Pixis made his employers happy by raising their moral, not just their pay." The Ghost told Levi as they watched the scene.

"But that's all the damn brats want from me."

"I think you'll find that some want much more." And then he found himself thinking of his secretary in particular, his face when he had sobbed in front of everyone in absolute humiliation. Somewhere deep inside of him, he actually wished he could've done a little more to make them happy. But then again, he thought, that kid probably deserved it.

He deserved much more and you know it...

Levi swallowed nervously

"Just- Just hurry up then!" He said to the ghost beside him. A nod and the world around them diminished away into a new place, an office that Levi remembered quite well for it was the one he worked in before he met Erwin.

In this vision, Levi was at the prime of his younger days, twenty-two and handsome as ever despite the lines that had begun to develop on his forehead. However, outshining him by far was a beautiful young lady standing on the other side of the desk he was sat at. She had a gorgeous maroon dress on that fell daintily to her smooth knees and matched the colour of her light ginger hair and honey-coloured eyes perfectly. On his desk, there were bounds of money that Levi was sorting with care and concentration into a safe with a digital padlock. All the while, the woman watched, not the money, but the man's grey eyes which were hazy and glazed over. Finally, she broke the stiff silence in the room,

"I'm sick of this." There was silence for another few seconds.

"Sick of what exactly?" the man behind the desk replied without even looking up, still engrossed in counting his money. The woman sighed sadly at his ack of care before answering,

"You loving something else so much that there's no more room for me..." the raven put the money aside for a moment and looked up with confusion at the fair lady.

"Loving what else?" he spat. "Are you accusing me of being a goddamned cheat?" She shook her head immediately and timidly turned away with a 'nevermind'. Levi 'tched' at this, standing up from his seat. "No, come on, you've disturbed me now: what are you trying to say to me?"

"That this..." she motioned around the room and finally to the money on Levi's desk. "Isn't what I wanted."

"What do you want me for? My money? Are you trying to use your looks to charm me?" he began to back her into a corner. "What the hell do you actually want from me?"

"I want you to be happy, for us to be happy. But you've changed, Levi, you love something more than you love the world. You love your money more than you love me." Suddenly, there were tears in her eyes but she kept them in as she made a resolve to finish everything there and then.

"You really are a ridiculous wretch..." Levi brought a hand up to his face and muttered disdainfully under his breath. "Why can't you or anyone else for that matter realise that money is happiness? It makes the world go round, benefits the rich and kills the poor. I can't give you anything else."

"Then I'm leaving." The floor scraped as the man turned on his heel, eyes narrowed and growling.

"But Petra, we're bloody engaged." Levi motioned to the silver band on her finger. "Do you even know how much that ring cost me!?"

"You earn love, not buy it, Levi!" the woman shouted back at the man before sighing and wiping her eyes for her tears were now falling. "I hope you...I hope you're happy with the life you have chosen. I-" She walked towards the door, opening it and stepping into the cold air, but not before giving him one last sorrowful look. "I wish you well."

The scene blurred and Levi stared wide-eyed at the place where she was once stood, hand outstretched towards the fading image. There was a wetness on his cheeks that he hoped was just the snow but knew that it was indeed not. He spoke to the ghost in a broken tone,

"Are you done?" the blonde figure shook their head pitifully.

"One shadow more." It whispered, placing a hand on his back and changing the scene once more so that they were beside a little house.

Looking through the windows, he could see children, many in fact. Every single one of them was running about with a joy and noisiness that could only be associated with the innocence and youth of being a young child. Within the corner of the room, Levi could see a tree twinkling and draped in tinsel with an angel atop. However, what he was gazing at was not the tree but actually the angel below it with her bright hair and sweet smile watching over the children. On her was a maroon dress more beautiful than before and yet somehow just the same. The door in the room opened to reveal the father of the children in the doorway.

"Petra, my dear," the woman turned to the man and her face lit up with an even brighter smile as he came into the room. "Guess which old friend I saw today in his office." Her eyes went to the side, as they always did when she was thinking. After a moment her eyes widened and she turned to the man again.

"Why, Oluo... it was Levi, wasn't it?" he nodded gravely, walking over to her and taking a seat beside her, patting the heads of the children as he went over.

"Yeah...I saw him in his office today. I heard his partner, Mr. Smith, was killed just the other day." Petra gasped and brought a hand to her mouth as tears threatened to spill. Although she was no longer in the company of the man, she still felt the same pity for him because she was just the type of person to care about everyone's happiness- a quality that Levi secretly envied.

"Is he- is he okay?" she spoke in a soft whisper. The man in the window watched with intent eyes, looking down and just then catching the shine of the rings on the couple's fingers. She, she had moved on and found happiness whilst he... Why, he was...

"He's quite alone in the world I'm afraid, my dear."

"Mr. Ackerman," Levi ignored the gentle voice of the ghost beside him. "You- you're crying, Mr. Ackerman..." He turned to look at the ghost only to see its face had warped and had somehow taken on the features of all those people from his past. It was a grotesque sight and made him feel sick and nervous

At this, the man turned on the spirit, shouting in terror at it to just go away and disappear.

"Can't you see what you're missing?" it whispered.

"It's not anything...it's not happening. Yes, that's right." Levi began to murmur frantically to himself. "You...you and Erwin both...you're just putting things into my head."

"But Levi...we miss you..." Finally, he snapped and struck the thing with his hand, sending it flying to one side.

"Leave me the fuck alone, you freak!" and then he was covering the face of the creature, blocking out all the light and its many faces. Back and forth the struggle went until the light began to gradually diminish. Eventually, the light faded with a final twinkling noise and he was in his room again.

"I will leave you for now, Levi Ackerman but be warned, a heart of stone cannot last forever." The voice of the spirit spoke once more, gentle again until it too vanished.

And then Levi was left there, quite alone in the world, once more.

 


	3. III.

Levi woke up in a cold sweat, which was very strange indeed, because he never remembered sleeping in the first instance. It was a dream; yes, that was the only explanation for this.   
Nodding to himself, he laughed bitterly and muttered to himself before checking the time.   
  
6:00pm. Suddenly, the church bells began to ring throughout the city and Levi looked up in surprise for the church bells didn't ring until-   
  
8:00pm it said it right there on his phone.   
  
The raven raised and eyebrow and watched horrified as the hour on his phone kept ticking upwards: 9, 10, 11 and then finally stopping at 12:00pm. But how could that be when he had been away for at least 2 hours when the ghost took him away at 1:00am (at least, in his dream, he told himself).   
  
He couldn't have slept for a whole day and another night, could he?  
  
As much as he tried to push it out of his mind, the more intrusive the numbers and the confusion became to him. But something was bothering him even more: was it a dream or not?  
  
There was only one thing he was certain of now: he was ready for whatever was coming to him.  
  
He got out of bed and patiently waited for the next spirit to arrive as he looked outside the window; all he saw was a pitch black street immersed with fog.  
  
He then suddenly heard a warm laughter coming from outside his bedroom door and realised: the next spirit was already there in his house.   
  
Cautiously opening his bedroom door, he peeked his head out to see what or who was behind it.   
  
A warm, orange glow seemed to come from his living room so he made his way down the stairs.  
  
Then, a loud, jolly voice called him.  
  
"Come in! Come in and look at me!"  
  
His living room was covered in holly, mistletoe and ivy. There was an enormous fire burning in the fireplace and on the floor was a mountain of foods of all kinds.  
  
Finally, on top of the pile, sat a happy giant, carrying a shining torch whilst stuffing their mouths full of delicacies.  
  
"I am the Ghost of Christmas Present." Said the Spirit.  
  
Levi looked up at it nervously. The Ghost was wearing a simple green dress with white fur, covered by a red robe. Its hair was long and brown in a ponytail, it's brown eyes were sparking brightly.  
  
"You have never seen anything like me before!" Said the Spirit, opening its mouth and revealing the sad remains of what was once a potato. Levi cringed.  
  
"Nu-uh."  
  
"I have about two thousand brothers, you know!" Levi was unsure as what to say.  
  
"Ummm... that sucks, I guess?"  
  
The Spirit opened its mouth again to spew more nonsense, but Levi cut it off.  
  
"If you have anything to show me, let's leave now." The spirit pouted before huffing and stuffing a piece of bread in their mouth. After chewing a few times, it turned back to Levi with a booming voice,  
  
"Touch my robe!" the raven pulled a strange face at the wording of the command but stepped forward nevertheless and took hold  
  
And as he did Levi found himself in the city streets on, you guessed it, Christmas morning.  
The city was busy as ever and Levi could sense the distinct aura of happiness each person had over them. So they walked and walked through a sea of happy faces, all wishing each other Merry Christmas and eager to spend their day with their loved ones.  
  
"How long are we supposed to wander around aimlessly like this?" Levi snapped.  
  
"Oh I assure you we are not wandering aimlessly, but if you wish to move on then we shall."   
  
Levi was shocked by where they ended up next. The Ghost had brought him to a hospital, which wasn't exactly the jolliest place to be on Christmas day.  
  
To be precise, they were now standing in a room where none other than Eren Jeager sat by the bed of a very sick looking blonde boy.  
The brunet was reading him a book while also holding his hand.  
  
"I nod at the other Will Grayson, up onstage. He nods to me. We have something between us, him and me.  
But the truth?   
Everybody has it.  
That's our curse and our blessing. That's our trial and our error and our it.  
The applause continues. I look up at Tiny Cooper.   
He may be heavy, but right now he floats." Eren closes the book, smiling. "The end."  
  
The other boy returns the smile weakly.  
  
"Glad you finished another book, Armin?"  
  
"Er-en... you know... you... are the one ... who really... reads.. them."  
  
"So? I promised you we would read all the books on your list till they let you out of this place, and that's what we're gonna do. I'm just... leaving 50 Shades for last so you can... read it by yourself when you're better." Eren let out an awkward cough.  
  
"Hmm...? Is... the sexin-ess.. t-too much... for you... Jae-ger?"  
  
"No way Armin, I-"  
  
"H-how... you gonna... make y-your... Levi melt if... you donn'... have the moves?"  
  
Levi felt his heart stop still in its place. Was Eren's friend talking about him? Was this what Erwin had warned him about?   
  
His head started spinning; all those warm smiles and kind words, those secret glances and the undying patience the brunette seemed to have for him. They were never fake; Eren was never fake.  
  
It made Levi boil with rage: he had spent his whole life trying to keep people away, yet some perfect guy with a heart of gold fell for his sorry ass anyway.   
  
And last but not least, why the hell was he getting so worked up about it? Surely a man like him wouldn't give two shits about someone having a crush on him.  
  
"Armin!" Eren almost squealed and then covered his face, embarrassed by his own pathetic noise. "H-he's not mine..."  
  
"...I...know...you...gonna...marry..him..."  
  
"Ar..."Eren looked up to see his friend's eyes full of hope and determination. He didn't have the heart to tell him that Levi had fired him and hated his guts so he hesitated before smiling gently to his friend. "...Only if you promise to be my best man."  
  
"Pfft... no... more like... chief... bridesmaid..."  
  
"Okay, we'll buy your dress as soon as you get out of here."  
  
Armin shook his head, closing his eyes. "I'm...never... gonna... leave... this... place..."  
  
Eren squeezed the boy's hand a little too tight. "Hey, don't say that okay? I-I got... a raise at work so now I'll get you out of here in half the time."  
  
The blonde frowned. "rai-se...? You... don't seem... happy... about it."  
  
The raven now felt his heart tugging in his chest. Eren hadn't gotten a raise, he'd been fired by Levi, so how was he going to pay Armin's hospital bills?  
  
"I don't?" Eren asked. "It must be cos I'm tired, that's all. "  
  
Levi fully understood how much Eren was distraught in that moment. After all he had spent many nights by his sister's hospital bed, praying to anything and everything that she would come back home again.   


That never happened of course.   
  
For some reason, he could not bear the thought of Eren going through the same thing.   
  
He turned towards the Ghost. "Spirit, the boy will live, right?"   
  
The Spirit did not look back at the man, only staring at the boy's bed instead.  
  
"I see a raven-haired girl crying over the blonde's lifeless body."  
  
So where would Eren be in that scenario?  
  
"But that cannot happen!" Levi shouted at the Ghost. "Something must be done!"  
  
"Indeed, but without money Eren cannot hope to pay his friend's hospital bills."  
  
The raven looked down at his own shaking hands. "But Eren... he's smart...he will find a new job soon." It sounded more like he was talking to himself rather than the spirit.  
  
"Just not soon enough." It said and headed outside the room. Levi followed after it, giving Eren one last glance.  
  
To his surprise they were still in the hospital, but they were now standing in the waiting room where Eren seemed to be having a very heated argument with the raven-haired girl who had been mentioned by the spirit.  
  
"I just cannot believe you're still thinking about that asshole after he ridiculed you and fired you that way, Eren! Aren't you mad? Anybody else would hate his guts by now!"  
  
"Mikasa, would you lower your voice? We're in a hospital and Armin is just around the corner." The brunette tried to reason with her.  
  
"Oh so what? You didn't tell him that your loverboy Levi treated you like shit and is also the reason why we're not gonna be able to get him cured anymore?"  
  
"YES WE FUCKING ARE!" Eren all but yelled.  
  
Their little argument had attracted the attention of a few nurses.  
  
"Sir if you do not calm down immediately, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." One of them said.  
  
Eren looked around, meeting the eyes of frightened mothers and children who were sitting in the waiting room as well.   
  
"I'm so sorry everyone, there’s nothing to worry about..." He said smiling awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.  
  
When everyone went back to minding their own businesses, Mikasa picked  up the argument where they had left off.  
  
"Let's be real here, Eren, the only way we were able to pay was thanks to both of my jobs and yours combined. Even if you do get employed somewhere else, there's no way we'll have enough money by next week."  
  
"Mika... I will have that money, I promise."  
  
"And how's that gonna happen?"  
  
"Don't worry about it."  
  
"By God Eren Jaeger, don't make me slap you!"   
  
Eren raised his hands up defensively. "I'll ask my folks for help, okay?"  
  
"...Eren you haven't talked to them in six years. You hate them and they hate you."  
  
"But they always liked Armin, sometimes I felt like they wished to have him as their son instead of me. I'm sure they'll be willing to help out, once they know his life is at stake, it would be too cruel of them to refuse."  
  
"Eren stop living in this fantasy land where everyone is kind and understanding. You've made this mistake with your parents and your wacko boss once already, there's no way I'm gonna let you do it again!"  
  
Levi stared at the scene in silence and then realised that tears had been running down his face as he touched his cheek.  
  
The girl eventually left and Eren sat alone in the waiting room, his head in his hands. Levi step towards him slowly, sat next to him and hugged him.   
  
Eren could not feel the hug of course but Levi really couldn't care less in that moment.  
  
His tears were falling down his face again but they didn't stain Eren's wrinkled t-shirt. The Spirit eventually put a hand on his back and Levi knew it was time to go.  
  
"Eren, I promise when this is over, I'll make it up to you." He said in a trembling voice and bent down to kiss the boy's head right before the Spirit could take them to their next location

Suddenly, the boy in his arms was gone and the ghost was beside him once more, sending sneaky glances every now and then. Eventually, they spoke,

“You actually care for him, huh?” Levi remained silent before making up his mind and speaking,

“I- I can’t.” At this, the spirit gave him a warm smile.

“Y’know… you _can_ get what you want…” she made a string of grapes appear out of thin air. “You just gotta believe it.” Levi watched in slight amazement at the trick but then shook his head; Eren wasn’t any kind of food, even if he did sometimes tempt his sweet tooth. He became lost in in his thoughts and didn’t realise that they were once again looking over the city, this time from the rooftops.

Without warning, the wind stopped and Levi turned in alarm to the spirit.

"What!? What's happening!?" The ghost froze, transfixed on something below. The raven noticed the drool slipping from their mouth and grimaced in disgust before following its gaze down to the pavement underneath them.

In the streets, he could see a brown ponytail bobbing along happily with a spring in its step. Following this observation, a loud (and slightly obnoxious) voice rang out, singing a cheery Christmas song.

"Last Christmaaaaas, I gave you my heart," Of course, it was Hanji, dancing down the street with a bounce as they went, swinging their hands (which were holding a bag) around in a very wild manner indeed. "But the very next day, you sold it on Ebaaaaaaaay~"

Levi clicked his tongue at the eccentric change of lyrics but found his lips curling slightly nevertheless at his co-worker's blind enthusiasm. He then noticed the bread peeking out of Hanji's bag and turned back to the ghost with a raised eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked, unamused.

"Shush, keep watching." They replied, eyes still fixed on the food. Levi turned back to the scene and noticed a group of children running around on the street Hanji had just turned onto. They were dressed very sparingly for the Winter chill and their hair was messy in knots and tangles. In the middle of their little circle was a small snowman, with two eyes made of pebbles. As they went about, fussing over the snow figure, a voice came from behind them.

"Did you kids make this darn fine piece of art here?" Hanji was inspecting the snowman, eyes gleaming as she looked it up and down. Nervously, the kids looked at each other before one of them nodded at the unnerving stranger in front of them. The brunette thought for a moment before reaching into their bag. "You know...it's missing one little thing..." As they spoke, they pulled out a carrot from their shopping bag. Levi ignored the hungry gulp from beside him and watched carefully as the brunette handed the carrot to the children who stared, mesmerised.

They looked down at the small vegetable in one of their friends' hand before licking their lips. Tentatively, they looked up at Hanji, turned to the snowman and then glanced back down at the carrot in hand. Hanji’s eyes widened as they realised what they were so conflicted about. They smiled happily.

"Don't worry," they said kneeling down. "Take the whole bag, it’s yours to eat." Immediately, the kids gasped in disbelief and watched in shock as the brunette handed the whole bag to them. "Merry Christmas!" Hanji beamed and so did the children. A hug was exchanged before the elder stood up and walked away, waving at the kids as they rushed inside to share the food. Levi watched the whole exchange, dumbstruck. The spirit turned to him after sobbing for a moment after she saw the food disappear.

"See? See how some generosity can make somebody's day?" Levi nodded but then gave the spirit a dubious look.

"You're crying..."

"These are happy tears! The joy of food is being shared!" the ghost hiccupped but kept the smile on their face.

Next, a bright laugh filled the air and Levi recognised it at once as his nephew's for he had a laugh just like his mother's: carefree and light in spirit. Just as soon as he recognised the sound, Farlan himself appeared before him. He was wearing a winter jacket as he strode up to the front step of a quaint house that Levi recognised as belonging to his late sister and the man whom she married.

“I’m home!” Farlan shouted into the halls as he entered the house, stopping to take off his coat. From around the corner, a woman popped her head out from the kitchen and beamed at the young man.

“Ah, welcome home, Farlan! Merry Christmas!” Farlan looked taken aback for a moment before he returned the smile to the woman.

“Merry Christmas, m-“ he paused before she hurriedly comforted him.

“Ah, I told you…you don’t have to call me that.” Levi then realised that this was Farlan’s new stepmother. She had a bright face and even brighter hair which sprang out wildly. The raven was taken aback: this woman was not the typical jailbait he expected to be with Farlan’s father. At that, he began to wonder: was Farlan indeed correct about his old man changing? “Come on in to the living room, your father is just getting ready.”

A moment later, they were seated at a large dinner adorned with festive food of all types. Howveer, the main attraction was certainly the turkey in the centre of the table. The Ghost of Christmas Present could not contain the drool coming from their mouth but Levi could not blame her at all in this case.

Farlan’s stepmother sat at the table with a jolly smile and wiped away the sweat at her brow. She seemed like the kind of woman who put her all into everything to make people happy- the best kind of person to be around at happy times like these.

Just then, the door opened to reveal a man the businessman knew very well as Farlan’s father. He entered with a huff and an angry expression as he struggled with his tie.

“For God’s sake I’m actually going to-“ Levi sighed. He hadn’t changed at all since he last saw hi- He stopped as the man’s expression changed into a surprised one. “Oh my, it’s amazing…” his features suddenly lit up in fascination and admiration of the feast. Farlan chuckled,

“It’s great, right?” His father nodded happily before expressing his thanks to the woman at the table and she blushed a little before modestly brushing off the thanks.

The family sat at the table and laughed and ate and enjoyed themselves with a constant smile. Levi watched on comfortably, a soft smile on his lips too.

Throughout the evening, they danced and told jokes and played festive games. It all seemed so fun in fact that the raven found himself not being put off when Farlan got chocolate all over his face whilst attempting to get a chocolate from his forehead to his mouth. Eventually, Farlan’s father stood up and announced that he was going to do an impression of somebody. His girlfriend and son watched carefully.

“Tch.” He said “why the hell are candy canes round? They would be much cheaper to make if they were straight.” Levi watched and then realised that the person he was acting out to be was he himself. The room was silent. Silent a little more. The woman opened her mouth and spoke carefully “Um… we shouldn’t make fun of Farlan’s unc-“A laugh rang out across the room. Farlan leaned back, chest heaving with laughter for a few minutes before he wiped his eyes.

“Its-“ he took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. “He’s a nice guy deep down, I know it. In fact, I’m sure he’d love to be here...” His father watched him from afar before going over to his son and patting his back.

“Isabel would be happy to see us all together and laughing too.” The woman watched the two before walking over and joining them.

“and that’s exactly what we’re going to do!” she looked at both of them. “Have fun and laugh so that those two are happy!” Farlan nodded before picking up a glass of sparkling wine and raising it in the air.

“To mother who had a great spirit…” he smiled to himself an continued on, “And uncle who has just the same deep down. Cheers!” A clink of glasses rang out across the room.

As much as it saddened him, Levi was glad that the family had been able to move on after the death of his sister and he knew deep down that she would be happy to see everyone getting along. Then a guilty thought hit him.

_Everyone but me._

The spirit’s voice brought him back to reality.

“You see? Being together with people you care about makes everyone happy.” Levi nodded, looking down at the floor as he did so before letting out an involuntary noise of surprise. He looked up apprehensively at the ghost.

"Are they...claws?" the spirit paused before looking down nonchalantly and nodding.

"But not mine."

"Then who's-" Suddenly, she flung the cape up in the air, revealing two children clinging to her feet. Well, children are the closest thing Levi could describe them to for (although they did have human features) their anatomy was twisted in a grotesque way with their faces stiff in monstrous grins. In some places, they had flesh missing. It was then the man realised that they were not claws but bones instead. He looked up at the Ghost of Christmas Present in confused horror. "What the hell are those things!?"

"They are Ignorance and Want. Honestly, they both suck but Ignorance is worse…She clings to sad beings such as you and turns them against the world." Levi continued to stare, petrified. “So…they cling to me for help and salvation. They get none.”

"Can't somebody help them? Take them in or something?" The spirit looked up at Levi with a confused look.

"Wouldn't they be fine on the streets where rubbish like them belong?" The spirit twisted Levi’s past words on him and he gasped in realisation.

A bell rang out as the clock struck twelve.

With that the light disappeared and Levi was overcome by darkness not just in the visual sense but also in the atmospheric sense. The space was empty and Levi felt alone.That is, until he realised he wasn't when a fine mist came rolling in. He remembered Erwin's words with great detail and took a deep breath. The air was cold and a chill ran down his back as he turned around slowly and spoke,

"You're the third spirit, are you not?"


	4. IV.

When he turned, Levi was met with the sight of a cloaked phantom moving ominously towards him. At once he bowed his head and fell on his knees from exhaustion for the aura the spirit seemed to resonate made him feel suddenly powerless and weak.

The ghost (or rather, phantom) was veiled in a dark cloak the same shade as the mist, leaving it completely concealed to the man before it. Everything, including its body, feet and even its face was hidden; everything, that is, save for the thin, spindly finger it was pointed out of its cloak- without this, it would have been extremely difficult to detach the ghostly figure from the darkness around it.

Levi finally gathered up the courage to speak as the phantom moved beside him and made him feel inferior

"You're..." he sighed tiredly but continue nevertheless, "You're the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, right?"

The spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand.

"I'm about to be whisked away and forced to look at things that haven't happened yet, but will in the future..." Levi pursued forward with the questions, although he had pretty much given up on the idea of receiving any answer in return. "Isn't that correct, spirit or... well, whatever your name is?"

Just as Levi was about to look away, he spotted a subtle movement in the cloak surrounding the phantom's face and watched it fold slightly, indicating that the entity had bowed its head. When it did so, he took notice of a flash of blonde hanging over one of its eyes. That nod was the only answer he received, but it was good enough for the man who was quite desperate at that point.

He nodded, but could not hide the trembling in his legs for, whilst he was quite used to ghostly company by now, Levi feared the silent shape and the atmosphere that surrounded it. It was cold. A type of cold he would've been completely fine with had it been a night or two or however long it had been ago but, this Levi here, was a different Levi who could now feel the cold and feel the sting others felt at it. He laughed dryly as he noticed the shaking of his bones.

"Hah. Look at me, spirit. You really are nightmare fuel, you know." As if on cue, the cloaked head turned to him and Levi squeaked as he saw a pair of dead, icy blue eyes watching him intently through the veil. "Okay, okay. P-Please don't look at me." The raven breathed a sigh of relief as the phantom turned away before he added, "But I know that you've come for a good reason and to teach me so... I'll listen just this once and be as grateful as I can. Could you please just say at least one damn word?"

Again, he got no reply and the finger simply continued to point into the distance. Levi smiled, a slight curve playing on his lips.

"Go on," he said to the spirit. "Go on and lead me to what it is you want to show me. I know we haven't got much time and time is precious right now and all. So, go on ahead."

There was a pause before the phantom began to drift back the way it came, finger guiding his journey like the stern of a ship whilst Levi followed immediately behind, being lead along by the spirit's trailing cloak.

The raven soon found himself walking down a familiar street and past the doors of his office building. Finally, the Ghost stopped once they reached a grup of business whom Levi vaguely recognised but never really bothered to learn the names of.

"No." Said a rather large man. "I don't know much, only that he's dead."

"When did he die?" Another asked.

"I heard it was last night." Said a third man.

Two more men then joined the group. "The old devil has gone at last then?" Asked one of them, and the rest laughed.

Levi turned towards the Spirit in muted annoyance. "Why are you showing me this? These people mean nothing to me."

'Yet I've spent my whole life competing over money from them and with them'.

The realisation hit Levi hard, but the Ghost was already moving on from the scene and he could barely even catch up with it.

"Spirit! I demand to know what exactly I just saw back there! How could they laugh joyously at the notion of that man being dead?"

Seeing as the Spirit did not answer once again, Levi pressed the matter further. "Please if you must show me these sort of things, at least show me some kindness linked to a death or something relevant." The spirit seemed to be irritated at his words but it retained its stoic aura and simply twitched its finger slightly.

The scene changed and they were back at the hospital that Levi had previously visited except this time the atmosphere was filled with a much more obvious sense of foreboding than before. Levi was filled with dread at what could be about to come.

A loud sob filled the air as he was brought to a hospital room. The frantic crying was coming from a woman with dark hair, leaning over the hospital bed, letting her hair scatter over the covers. It was the same blonde before in the hospital bed but now his youthful features were almost unidentifiable due to how tired and pale they had become. Finally, Levi heard it over the sound of the young woman's screaming and sobbing: the flatline beep on his heart rate monitor. The raven felt his blood ran cold as he realised something...

They'd ran out of money, hadn't they?

He clutched his hands and gripped the hair on his head, pulling it tightly.

"Yes they...they ran out of money. Mikasa had two jobs but Eren..." He mumbled frantically to himself before his whole body tensed and he had the overwhelming urge to vomit. "I...I caused this. I killed him." Although he knew deep down that the statement was an exaggeration, he still felt a crushing guilt at the fact that he could've been kept alive a little longer or even saved if the money had been available for his treatment. Quietly, he whispered painfully to the ghost, "Take me away...please."

The ghost watched the man for a moment in what could be described as pity and observed how he was trying to hold back tears. It was torture- torture that he deserved and one that he would learn from. Knowing this, he allowed the spirit to take him to another scene.

He looked up and saw that they were heading to his nephew's house and pointed this out to the ghost.

"Yes, just up ahead, that's it." he whispered to himself quietly. "We're going home now: it's all going to be alri-" They turned away from the direction of the house and Levi looked up at the ghost when he noticed where exactly they were headed: the cemetary.

They walked towards a small group of people whom Levi knew all too well: Farlan, the boy's father and finally Hanji. They looked different, and Levi quickly realised it was because they had aged: Farlan was now a full grown man, Hanji's face was starting to show their first wrinkles while the other had just added a few to the ones he already had.

All of them were standing in front of a grave, and the Spirit motioned for him to go stand next to it like the rest of them.

So Levi did, he walked closer them and saw; he saw what was possibly one of his worst nightmares: Farlan crying on his father's shoulder while Hanji just looked gloomly at the grave, his grave, with red eyes and a tear stained face.

He had made people suffer after all, even in death. He now understood why the businessmen laughed but... these three, they had never stopped caring about him even after he had turned into a monster.

He looked to Farlan, who was absolutely distraught and sobbing grossly. Levi tried touching his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm here. It's alright. You're gonna be alright."

Of course Farlan did not hear him, and every sob and cry cut Levi deeper than any knife ever could.

"You don't need me anyway, you never did-"

The sound of thunder erupted from the sky and suddenly the three people before him vanished without a trace.

It was now raining, but Levi still stood right in from of his grave and the Ghost was still beside him.

A figure soon appeared to be making it's way towards the his grave.

Once she got closer, Levi recognised her as the raven from the hospital.

Why was she of all people here?

"Now I know what you're thinking." She said addressing his grave. "And no, I'm not here to vandalise your tomb stone... even if that's only because Farlan will know it was me who did it."

She took out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a long drag.

"You've taken the two people I loved the most away from me, Levi Ackerman, and you probably didn't even know their names. Back then, after I had lost them both... I confess, I wanted to murder you and then shut myself from the world forever." Levi unconciously opened his mouth at the confession before turning his head down and sighing; he'd probably deserve it, after all.

"But then I understood that doing that would have just made me like you, a bitter lonely scratch who could think of no-one but himself. And I saw the appeal of it too... mistreating the world like it had mistreated me." The man flinched as her words cut deeper. The woman in front of the grave sighed and shook her head.

"But there's only one thing you never realised: yes, the world might be selfish and cruel, filled with dictators and thieves, liars and murders, but there are also a few Erens, Hanjis and Farlans out there. Those are the people you fight through the pain for." Her teeth clenched as she spat out the next words,

"The people who gave you everything and you stomped on their hearts like it was your fucking birthright!"

She threw the cigarette on the ground, putting it out with her heel.

"... Anyways, Farlan said it would have been good for me to get things off my chest, I just think he's still bitter about that time I almost smashed a glass over his head after he told me he was your nephew. Honestly, I feel sorry for him sometimes. I heard his mother was nice- makes me wonder what fucked you up." There was a pause in which Levi began to silently reflect and the woman did the same.

"I didn't think I would ever have come but... well... you know what today is, r-right?" She said thumbling to get another cigarette to her lips.

"It's been ten years since h-he... he just took off that night... after I saw him at the hospital. I know he said he would have done anything to get that money b-but..."

A long drag. She let it out, let it in and then let it all out again like it was fresh air to her.

"And those fuckers even said he did it on a regular basis... how did I never notice what was going on..?"

She let out a tiny sob, trying to contain her feelings.

"It's was so gruesome... the way they found him..."

Another drag. She then let it out, let it in and then let it all out again like it helped.

"You know, Armin's death had always been out of anybody's control but Eren's... that was on you." She spat. The man froze.

Eren was...

"WHAT??" Levi screamed louder than he ever had in his life. "TELL ME THIS ISN'T TRUE!" He tried grabbing at the Ghost's shoulders but it was like trying to catch thin air.

Right on queue the scene before him changed once again and he dropped to his knees, wailing in despair once he found himself faced with a different slab of stone which read:

EREN JAEGER

1993-2016

A wonderful brother and the best friend anyone could ever ask for.

He never stopped fighting for the ones he loved.

We'll miss you dearly, Eren,  
May you rest in peace.

After wiping his tears Levi could see the Ghost was beginning to fade in thin air. Again, he reached out in a futile attempt to cling to the spirit and his hope.

"No! Show me how to stop his death from happening!"

The Spirit turned towards Levi, almost intrigued by his behaviour.

"I know what I must do to change now, but I want to change for him. He needs to see the impact he's had on my life or else this will all be meaningless!"

The Ghost disappeared from sight, simply abandoning him without a word. But soon Levi saw the scenery around him change drastically: he was on some dirty old street on the wrong side of town which he'd had the misfortune of driving by a few times.

But then, like a beacon of hope in the pitch black darkness, he spotted none other than Eren Jaeger, alive and standing against the wall of a building.

He rushed towards him, thanking all the Spirits, even Erwin, that he was safe.

"Eren am I so glad to see you!" He said jumping at the brunette's neck but the other just simply stared at the road ahead with a blank expression. Levi looked around nervously. "What on earth are you doing here, this place is dangero---"

The sound of a car pulling up in front of them made Levi spin around.

"Hey gorgeous, how much are you selling that pretty little body of yours at?" The driver slurred. Out of the corner of his eye, Levi could've swore he saw the brunette cringe before he put on a provocative expression.

"Quite a lot, but I promise I'm worth it~." Eren said in a sultry tone, walking through Levi towards the car.

"Hop in then." Levi stood in complete shock, frozen to the spot as he heard the car door slam and the engine murmur as the vehicle drove off down the street. Seconds passed and then minutes. Eventually he spoke in the deafening silence surrounding him. Only a few words but something meaningful nevertheless.

"Hang in there, Eren." he shut his eyes as the scene melted away around him. "I'll save you."

 


	5. V.

I'm not quite sure why or how exactly I fell for Levi Ackerman.

After all, he was nothing but rude, arrogant, selfish and ignorant in everyone’s thoughts and seemed totally uncaring about anything to do with his employees or other people unless it came to money. Mikasa had always called me stupid and naïve- so did everyone else who knew about my little admiration, really. But I’d already made my mind up about Levi Ackerman; I was going to be the one to break down his shell and show everyone that he could and would care if it came to it.

Mainly, I'd tried to keep my distance and try not to annoy him in case I was just a bother (which I most likely was) but that night was going to be the night I told him how I felt and finally got closer. Yes, I was even more aware than ever of how other people viewed him and how he acted, yet I still had some hope deep inside me that he would eventually come around and reveal something caring underneath that cold exterior; I was so so hopeful for him.

He was going to be happy, we were going to be happy. Forget Christmas, his birthday was going to be the one thing we cherished because he would be glad to be alive and me even gladder. I knew that my dreaming was going to be the end of me one day but I really couldn’t help it- I was so excited to see his face when he walked into the room and so excited to think of how he could change that night. I had real optimism for him.

And that's why it hurt so much when he finally snapped.

"Are you done yapping now Jaeger?" I paused at his cold tone before nodding sheepishly. "Because I really can't take any more of your crap." My mouth opened as if to speak but then I became increasingly aware of the people around me and couldn't move a muscle. A whisper came out but went unheard of to Levi's ears.

"I-" he continued right on in his venomous tone.

"You keep pushing to get me to like you, what makes you think I would ever take a liking to a whiny, over emotional and pathetic brat like you?" I froze. He knew, didn't he? He knew and he hated me for it. In that moment, all I wanted to do was for Hell to open up beneath me and swallow me whole though I had a feeling what was currently before me was hell in fact. My ears and eyes and cheeks and everything began to sting as he let out a laugh and continued to spit at me.

"I pitied your sorry ass so I gave you this job but I am so done with dealing with your bullshit!”

I didn't actually leave that office with a hatred for Levi: just an even deeper one for myself. After all, I guess it wasn't his fault that I was stupid enough to fall for him. All he did was push people away- I was the stubborn one, the stupid one and the hopeless one.

I checked the time and sighed, watching as my breath transformed into a white swirl in the air before fading gently.

If only I could do the same...

I shook my head with a small 'shut up, Eren' before stepping into a nearby book store.

As I walked up and down the shelves, I finally managed to drag my thoughts away from the prospect of losing my silly crush and realise the fact that I had lost my job: my source of income. Or...one of them at least.

My fingers traced the spines on the books delicately before pausing when I saw a familiar spine.

'Will Grayson, Will Grayson', huh?

Looking back at the list, I found the title and carefully removed the book from the shelf. I did this every week- I went to the book store to buy a book off a list my best friend had made. Armin loved to read but it had gotten to the point where I had to do it which I didn't mind at all. He'd always been a sickly child when he was younger but it seemed his condition just got worse as he grew older. Of course, there was a chance of saving him and recovering very well but...it was obvious in the way he spoke and in his dulling eyes that he'd lost that hope long ago.

I paid for the book and left, only then noticing the scratches and wrinkles on the spine of the book which I'd unconsciously left with my nails. Walking to the hospital, I kept thinking of Armin and his treatment. Normally, it would’ve been free of charge but his condition had deteriorated so badly that even the hospital was having trouble supporting the costs of the treatment. I understood completely but it still angered me to think that a life had to be paid for.

With money I couldn’t provide…

~

“GODDAMIT.” I found myself shouting as I kicked the wall of the hospital with my foot. I reeled at the impact afterwards and took to leaning against the wall.

They say that if you repeat something enough in your head it becomes true; so, I told myself that Armin wouldn’t die and Mikasa wouldn’t kill me and that perhaps I wasn’t in the wrong.

I still couldn’t seem to believe it, however.

Holding my breath, I brought a hand up to my face and felt my cheeks. They were wet. Next came the sobs from the back of my throat taking over me as I tried to push them back. I stood like that for a few minutes, just sobbing and crying against the side of the hospital before wiping my tears and sorting myself out.

Yeah, life was shit. But somebody had to stay strong.

~

"...I...know...you...gonna...marry..him..."

My chest tightened at his comment and I froze for a second. For just a fleeting moment, I decided I was going to tell him and, so, I looked up at him but then hesitated seeing his expression. “Ar…” he watched me with a bright optimistic smile. I sighed- I couldn’t bear to tell him that Levi had fired me and hated me. “…Only if you promise to be my best man.” His eyes lit up before he put on a mock displeased expression and corrected me, saying he wanted to be the ‘chief bridesmaid’.

I smiled to myself. "Okay, we'll buy your dress as soon as you get out of here." My mood fell once again when I saw Armin shake his head, a wistful expression on his pale features. He closed his eyes.

"I'm...never... gonna... leave... this... place..." I bit down on my tongue and ignored my thoughts before speaking,

He might be right…

“Don’t say that, Ar…”

It made me feel a little sick that the very man I liked and that Armin wanted me to be with was the one to put him in danger. I clenched my fists on my lap and made it clear to myself that I wasn’t to blame: it was all Levi. All this time, I had believed so blindly in him and yet he had proven just fine that he was everyone else thought him to be. And this time, I didn’t care to prove him wrong.

I bid Armin my last goodbye for the evening after a few more minutes of conversation and left the hospital.

The way home seemed longer somehow and it wasn't because of the freezing cold either. The events of the passed day made their way in to my head to settle along with my constant worries for Armin's health.

Six months ago, they told me he was never going to wake up.

“There's no point in fighting it, Mr. Jaeger.”

But he did wake up.

“Even so, his body is in total paralysis. Is that the life you want for him?”

Two months ago, he started switching the TV channels on his own (Armin hates TV but that's beside the point).

A surprising miracle, it must be said, but no-one can really know how long it will last.

Three weeks ago, he began talking again and they stopped feeding him through a tube.

I don't give a shit what they think or what they say, I'm getting him out of there and when I do he will be able to run, jump, scream at the top of his lungs and sore way higher than any of their expectations.

So…I'd decided that I’d going back there tonight and have those... those disgusting pigs put their hands all over me...

A shiver of disgust and fright ran down my body.

'You can't back down, Eren, not now.

‘You've done this before, when it happens just take a breath close your eyes and think of... of...'

Pain spread through my chest as an image of Levi flashed in my mind.

'... even he said that's where I belong... on the streets.’

But... did that mean he has actually seen me? It was a thought that had been occurring to me since I’d been fired.

What if he did? How long has he known? Was he disgusted by me this whole time?

I-I never understood why he couldn't have just simply turned me down without saying those horrible things---

"WATCH OUT!" Someone shouted and suddenly I was being pulled back onto the pavement while a car whizzed by me almost running me over.

I started breathing erratically, realising I had almost died.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need us to walk you home?" Some guy with short messy black hair and half- rimmed blue glasses asked me with a a worried expression.

I was still trying to catch my breath while he asked his silver-haired partner to hand him some tissues and gave them to me.

At first I didn't understand, but as I reached up to my face I found that it was completely wet with the tears I hadn't even felt running down my face.

"...T-thank... you... both... there really is no need to walk me home, I'll manage."

"Nonsense!" Said the one who had been quiet till now in a thick Russian accent. "No-one should be sad and alone on such a night as this!"

"Forgive him, he's shit faced since we went out to celebrate his birthday tonight."

"Yours too huh?" Eren said before he could stop himself. "I mean! Not that I'm implying anything! You guys just look cute together that's all..." he let out an awkward laugh wondering if this night could get any worse.

To top it all, Levi wasn't even his, so why did he say that?

"Correction." Said the silver-haired one, wrapping an arm around the other. "We're freaking hot together." He kissed his lover's neck and the other chuckled a little saying he was being silly.

"Thanks again for all your help and enjoy the rest of your evening." That sentence had come out more bitterly than I wanted it to but truth be told, I was jealous.

They were what I had always wished Levi and I would be, but love wasn't meant for everybody.

I walked away far from them and then started to make my way back home.

~~~

I reached my place, showered and put on the skimpiest outfit I could find.

I needed to attract more clientele than usual after all.

Looking into the mirror, I saw a scared and wrecked human being who was hiding under a stoic mask, not caring if he was about to sell himself.

'Just shut off your mind from the world and it won't be able to hurt you.'

~~~

I now stand at my corner: cold and alone.

'This used to be easier.' I think to myself. 'Maybe because it was easier to think positively back then.'

Suddenly, I hear the rapid sound of footsteps on the pavement. They sound uncontrolled and hurried. Curious, I turn to the source of the sound and freeze. Levi. Levi running towards me.

As he comes closer, I see the sweat on his brow and the way his shoulders heave as he labours for breath.

Instinctively, I open my mouth in surprise as he comes closer.

“Levi…” he’s almost right in front of me now. “What are you doing he-“

But then I’m silenced by his lips locking onto mine. I stumble back, my eyes wide as he murmurs against my lips and sends shivers down my spine,

“Shut up.” For a moment, I forget about everything and begin to close my eyes, almost falling for it, before I think back to my earlier decision. I grab his shoulders and pull away quickly.

“Levi, what the hell are you-“ I snap out of my trance and begin to shout. He cuts me off again.

"Eren, just shut up and come with me, please..." He sounds desperate, almost as if he got here quickly to stop me and I almost fall for it. For a split second, I just want to forget about everything and be kissed by him again and fall into his arms. He grabs my hand and begins to pull me along until I slap it away and walk back.

Too bad I don't forgive people that easily, as nobody should. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, I’d already decided that earlier.

"Get lost, I'm working." I snap at him, and- damn- it felt good.

"I k-know, Eren, trust me I know you need the money and I will give you everything you need. Just please come with me--"

"What is it that you want from me?!" I screamed. "I have been nothing but good to you Levi, I followed your every order and never complained about the way you treated me, so what do I get in return? I get fired and humiliated in front of almost everyone I know! And you know the worst part? My fucked-up brain doesn't even care about that, all it cares about is the fact that I will never get the chance to... t-to... be with you."

I wiped my tears and looked at him. He just seems to stand there, shocked and on the verge of crying but I couldn't care less right now

He could cry me a river, it was the least I deserved.

“But...I’ve come to change things, to apologi-“

“You can’t change shit, Levi. Life’s a bitch, nothing’s ever going to get better!” At my words, he stops in trying to say anything and simply takes to looking at the ground. Something inside me twists at seeing him so upset but I stick to my resolve and just turn away from him.

The sound of a car pulling up behind Levi catches my attention.

A customer. Perfect.

"You better stay out of my sight if you know what's good for you." I spit at him finally and make my way to the other car, swaying my hips a little and trying not to break down at any moment.

"Heyy there gorgeous~" The pig slurs. I cringe but put on sultry look nevertheless.

"Why hello there~." I fake a giggle. "Wanna have some fun handsome?" I notice the man’s eyes flicker to Levi and narrow in suspicion. His hand moves. I look down and see a glint of silver.

A knife.

Immediately, I look up at his with wide eyes and begin to step away whilst shaking my head.

“A-Actually, no…I-“

Then like a flash the man grabs my wrist and holds a knife up to my throat.

"I'm going to cut you into little bits, you slut." He whispered.

Panic spreads through me and I start squirming to get out of his strong grip.

"N-no stop!" Oh my God. My life was over. I was going to die like this. My body will be found in some dark alley half eaten by dogs. At these thoughts, my body goes limp and I begin to cry.

"Fuck, stop making a fuss bitch." He says calmly and raises his blade to stab me when I’m suddenly pushed to the ground.

I look up to see Levi with the very same blade plunged into his stomach.

 

 


	6. VI.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys there will be another chapter after this. Epilogue + smut, is that a problem for any of you? Should I post it separately?

 

Levi woke up to a dull ceiling of white and blurred vision. There was a flat pounding in his head and a ringing in his ears that was most likely from a few machines beeping in the background. The air smelled funny and he relaxed as he realised where he was: a hospital.

  
Wait…

Why was he in the hospital?  
  
He immediately shot up, frightened by the realisation, when he groaned from a sharp pain in his abdomen and fell back a little.  
  
"Levi!" An unmistakable voice exclaimed by his side and then he was suddenly being hugged.  
  
Eren. It was Eren. He was okay.  
  
Levi immediately hugged the other man back on impulse, even if he could feel the sharp pain from the stitches. "Oh, Eren, you're okay!" He squeezed the brunette tighter. "I-I thought I had gotten there too late... I thought I had lost you for good."  
  
The other pulled away and Levi could see by his worn-out face that he had been crying, but the fresh tears which were running down his face now were tears of joy.  
  
"I could say the same thing to you, you reckless bastard! What were you thinking?" Eren shouted, but there was no hatred in his voice like there had been the previous night. Levi bowed his head before speaking in a tired voice,  
  
"Eren... I've come to realise what a literal piece of shit I am." Eren’s facial expression softened.  
  
"But-“  
  
"No, please let me say this to you because you deserve to hear it.” The brunette hesitated but then just nodded. “I have my issues and my reasons for why I was always a grade A asshole but I've come to realise that... almost everyone does. “ he took a deep breath before continuing, “I was just the one who decided treat other people like shit just because I wasn't happy with my life, while you...” the raven glanced up at Eren who was watching carefully. “You battled through your all your shit plus my abuse and never once were you rude or talked back to me. “

“Levi, I-“  
  
“Eren, you are such a wonderful person, the bravest I've met, so of course I would sacrifice myself... over and over again for you.”  At this, the younger man began to blink a lot, seemingly trying to hold back a few tears. Levi shook his head, “But I do not want you putting yourself in danger like that ever again! I will give you all the money you need and the find you a higher paying job in the company... possibly as far away from me so you don't ever have to endure my shit again..."  
  
Eren put a finger on Levi's lips.  
  
"Look, I’m still very hurt by what you said, but I'm glad you're not so mad at the world anymore. Also, there's no need to buy my forgiveness-"  
  
"But I need to know you'll be safe." Levi said gingerly taking Eren's finger away from his mouth.   
  
Eren looked away not replying.  
  
"What is it?" The raven asked, daring to hold Eren's hand in his and squeeze it.  
  
"It's just... you know by now that I've had feelings for you for the longest time then last night… first you tear my heart apart, then you save my life a-and... now you're holding my hand.. I really don't know _what_ to think Levi..."  
  
"I'm not expecting you to fall at my feet and declare your undying love for me, Eren. I know it must be difficult for you... all I can say is, I'll keep my distance to make it easier for you to forget about me."  
  
Eren smiled and shook his head. "Then why are you squeezing my hand?"   
  
Levi looked down at their interlocked fingers and loosened his grip. "Sorry I just wanted to comfort you... a-and it feels kind of nice..."  
  
Eren sighed, grasping for Levi’s hand again. "I really, really should be punching the living daylights out of you, Levi Ackerman..." He said and leaned against Levi's shoulder.  
  
"You can if you want. Just tell me if you want the money before or after you beat the crap out of me."  
  
Eren laughed. "You're serious about that money thing, aren't you?"  
  
"Deadly." Levi said.  
  
"Okay then." Eren whispered, even if he did feel bad in taking someone's money like that. "But you have to promise to never be a dickhead to anyone again... and, also, maybe be friends with me?"   
  
"What?" Levi asked and a wide smile spread across his face. "You really mean that?"  
  
Eren had never seen him smile, or in a good mood in general. It definitely did things to him he'd rather not say out loud.  
  
"Yeah... I'm willing to see if you really have changed Levi. But don't think I'll take any more of your abuse because I don't waste my time on people who break my trust."  
  
"As you shouldn't. I will not throw away this chance you've given me, Eren. I want to be a better person for you and everybody who's loved me all this time whilst I was wallowing in hatred and fear of trusting others."  
  
They spent the rest of the morning simply talking. Apparently, the man who had stabbed Levi just drove off, claiming that Eren wasn't even worth all that trouble. Eren managed to drive Levi to the hospital in time and that's where he spent the rest of the night.  
  
After that they moved on to other topics and ended up on talking about what they were doing for Christmas, when an idea popped in his head.  
  
"Eren?"  
  
"Hmmm?" Eren hummed and looks up from Levi’s hand on the sheets.  
  
"You're my new slash only friend now yes?" The boy hesitated.  
  
"Well... there's also Hanj---"  
  
"Would you come to dinner with me at my nephew's?"  
  
Eren was suddenly giddy at the idea of having dinner with Levi and he was sure Farlan would never mind.  
  
But then he remembered...  
  
"Levi, I promised my sister I would spend the day with her..."  
  
'Well apparently they end up hitting it off so...' Levi thought to himself.  
  
"She can come too, I really want to meet her.” Eren made a strange face at the man before laughing.

 

“You know…I’ve always thought you were kinda similar…”

 

Levi raised a brow but didn’t question Eren any further. After a moment, he turned back to the boy,

 

“Um...it’s fine if you don’t want to-“

 

“No, no! Absolutely, I’ll come! I’d love to eat dinner with you!” The two froze and Eren hurriedly waved his arms. “A-and everyone else, haha…” Levi didn’t reply and the brunette looked away for a moment before turning to loom at one of the machines. 

“Levi…why’s your heart rate monitor going crazy?” 

 

The raven coughed.

 

“Just feel a little dizzy, that’s all.” 

 

“Sure you do.”

~

“Sir, we really cannot allow you to leave just yet.” Levi groaned for the fifth time in that minute. “You cannot go unsupervised outside-“ 

 

He was sick of listening to the doctors at this point and really just wanted to leave. He was really tempted to just grab Eren and escape the goddamn place but that notion was quite impossible with a stab wound in the abdomen.

 

“I’m not, he’s with me.” He pointed to Eren who was sat silently in the corner. The boy nodded.

 

“We really want to-“ he was ignored by the doctors, however.

 

“Sir, I’m sorry but we can’t let you go out there unsupervised without a medical professional and prone to any further injury.”

 

“And who said he’d be unsupervised without a ‘medical professional’, huh?” 

Everyone turned to see the new voice. Levi and Eren gasped.

 

“Hanji?”

 

“Doctor Hanji to you, boys.” She flashed the two a smile before spinning her sights back onto the doctors, face completely serious. “You see, I actually have a certificate of medical expertise so this patient here would not be unsupervised and immediate care would always be available in case of a emergency-“ Levi shouted out before they finished.

 

“You’re a doctor!? Are you serious!? Why the hell did you come to work in that office then? You don’t get paid crap.”

 

Hanji made a face that just screamed ‘why isn’t it obvious?’ before replying blankly,

 

“I got bored.”

~

Unbelievably, after presenting proof of their training in the medical field, Hanji managed to get Levi discharged with just a wheelchair on the one condition that he's return to the hospital after his visit. 

 

As they were just about to leave the wards, Eren stopped and gasped.

 

“I-I’ve got to go visit Armin.” Levi looked conflicted and Eren flinched as he waited for the outburst to arrive: it never did. The raven nodded and the brunette smiled thankfully before running off down the corridor, causing a few nurses to shout at him as he did so.

 

He returned a few minutes later with a smile. 

 

“Armin told me to hurry back to you.” Levi nodded, turning to leave. “On the one condition that he gets to meet you soon.” The man stopped and turned with a nod.

 

“Of course, now let’s go.” Eren nodded, taking long strides to catch up to his former boss.

~

Farlan Farlan took off his coat at the door and sighed. 

 

From around the corner, his stepmother peaked her head out with a soft-smile. She watched Farlan for a moment before she spoke,

 

 “Merry Christmas, FarI.” The tall man at the door turned with a wry smile to the woman.

 

"Merry Christmas to you too, m-“ he paused and sighed before she rushed over, waving her hands as she went.

 

Ah, I told you… you don’t have to call me that,” Farlan nodded before giving the woman an apologetic look and replying,

 

“Yeah, sorry I’m just a little bit all over the place because of all that fuss earlier…”

 

“Uh-huh, how is he, anyways?” Farlan’s eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head.

 

“He wasn’t even there, checked himself out apparently!” His step-mother returned his confusion but brushed it off and welcome him inside to the living room.

 

A half-hour later there was a knock at the door. Farlan was the first to stand up and answer it.

 

“Hello? What is it? I swear to God if you’re selling girl scout cookies on Chri-“ he froze for behind the door were a great group of people: a beaming Hanji, a deadpan Mikasa shivering in the cold, Eren looking apologetically at him and, last but not least, his short uncle who was now even shorter than before due to the wheelchair he was in. Farlan was shocked to say the least but he could’ve sworn he almost had a heart attack at what he saw next.

 

“Merry Christmas, Farl.” His uncle smiled. He frickin’…smiled. 

 

Farlan didn’t know how long he stood there frozen for but eventually a voice took him out of his trance.

 

“Hey, look at that giant icicle. Oh, my…it’s frozen stiff indeed.” Hanji burst out laughing and pushed through the door of the house, shouting their welcomes as they went. Everyone else followed, leaving the poor young man stood at the door with not a clue as to what was happening. Eren tapped the man on the shoulder.

 

“Sorry about that,” he said sheepishly. “It seems that your uncle’s had a change of heart somehow. Let’s give him a chance, okay? Oh and, I hope you don’t mind the company.” Farlan smiled in understanding. 

 

“Of course not.” He beckoned Eren inside and closed the door behind him.

There was a booming voice from the top of the stairs. 

 

“I can’t get this goddamn tie to-“ he paused as he locked eyes with the injured man below. “Levi…” 

 

Levi looked up at Farlan’s father from atop the stairs. There was an intense staring contest for a few seconds before the raven simply sent him a smile.

 

“Merry Christmas. Sorry for disturbing your evening but…the more the merrier, hey?”

 

The man on the second floor looked more than a little confused but then shook his head and muttered ‘to hell with it’ before joining Levi downstairs to catch up.

~

An hour later, all were seated at the dining table adorned with the fantastic and delicious food Farlan’s step-mother had made. The festive spirit was hanging heavily in the air and the table was filled with chatter. Amidst, all the conversation, Farlan turned to the brunette boy next to him.

 

“So, Eren, you look nice today-“ Farlan flinched as he felt a sharp pain in his leg. Both of them, in fact. Raising his head, he saw two ravens who were both staring daggers at him.

 

“Doesn’t he just?” said the male, taking a sip of his mulled wine.

“I could say the same, Farlan.” The female said, shaking her hair out of her scarf. Farlan stared for a second before clearing his throat.

 

“Um...s-so do you.” Mikasa paused before turning to him. After a second, she smiled a beautiful smile and thanked him. Levi’s nephew turned back to his wine which was as red as his face.

 

The evening passed on very quickly, all of the attendants having great fun. They were games which made everyone happy and some ‘yo mama’ contests hosted by Hanji which didn’t make people so happy. To add to the list, there was dancing that filled the whole living room; Mikasa twirling about the room with Farlan, Hanji doing god-knows-what- to the poor wall, Farlan’s parents doing a traditional dance in the centre of the room and Levi tapping his foot in the corner, trying not to be tempted by the way Eren moved his hips way too much while dancing.

 

As he looked over the whole scene, Levi found himself smiling fondly. Grabbing a glass, he tapped it with a spoon, grabbing the attention of everyone.

 

“I’ve- I’ve come to see that this world can be a happy place,” everyone watched Levi thoughtfully.

 

 “ I can’t say I realised it to myself. But I’d like to thank some divine intervention,” he turned to the sky.

 

 “ A great family, those here and those laid to rest,” he turned to Farlan and his parents. His nephew’s face softened and mouthed a ‘thank you’. 

 

“I’d also like to thank the people I may not know well yet.” He turned to Mikasa who looked away but he could see the smile peeking out of her red fabric.

 

“And, finally, I’d like to thank those that I slaved about so much and yet were still there to stand by me.” He looked to Hanji who flashed him a thumbs up and then to Eren who was sat with an adoring look in his eyes.

 

“Thank you…” he turned one last time to address the rest of the room, raising his glass. “To the Past, the Present and most of all…the bright, bright Future ahead! Cheers!”

 

The room filled with a clinking of glasses and great cheers that went on through the night.

 

The only thingbrighter than the stars that night, was the glow of people’s spirits.


	7. VII.

~The following year~

Levi wiped his snow covered shoes on his doormat before entering his house.

Once inside he removed them and shrugged off his coat, leaving the groceries he had bought on the kitchen and picking up his phone.

'Hi this is Eren's phone. If I'm not answering your calls it's probably because I'm busy with work or doing bad things to my boyfriend, like drinking Jaegermeister out of his belly button. Happy holidays!'

"Eren, how many times have I told you to change that voicemail? It only happened once and I am never drinking alcohol with you again after that. Ever.

Anyway I still wish you weren't still at the office. It's kinda ironic how you own all our asses now but you still have to work like a slave..."

He let out a loud sigh.

"Anyway, I bought all your favourite shit so starting tonight we can go into 'Christmas hibernation' as you like to call it. Also dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes so... even if you get out of the office sooner you can come here, I don't mind."

There was an awkward silence.

"Actually... it's more than just 'I don't mind', I really miss your stupid face, I want to hug you and... and... you and Arlert better not be giggling at this voicemail or he can say goodbye to his equine friend."

And with that he ended the message.

Did he actually just say all of those things?

A shade of pink tinted his cheeks as he started preparing his boyfriend’s favourite dinner.

Levi had really wanted to take the idiot out but the other had insisted on staying in that night and Levi still couldn't understand why.

Maybe Eren was just exhausted from work? Yes, that would explain it.

He started humming a song to himself as he cooked when suddenly he realised that one of the endredients he needed was on the top shelf.

He huffed, cursing his genetics for the billionth time in his life and stood on his tip toes to reach it when suddenly he heard a familiar giggle behind him and felt someone pressing up behind his back to get the ingredient for him.

He turned around to find a cozy looking Eren Jaeger, wearing one of Levi's old shirts which was way too big for him and a pair of bright pink pigiama bottoms.

"And here I thought you were working your ass off at the office." Levi said turning back to his cooking and trying to hide the smile which had spread across his face.

The brunette hugged him from behind nesting his head in Levi's neck.

"I was..." He mumbled. "But I finished early so I wanted to come here and surprise you... then I fell asleep in your bed."

"Hmmm, sure that's all you did in my bed?" The raven teased.

"Hey!" Eren exclaimed and Levi turned back to look at him.

He was all flustered and could hardly look Levi in the eyes.

"Eren, I'm just messing with you." Levi brought a hand to the other man's face as a way of soothing him. "You know, as a joke? Like we normally do. I didn't mean to upset you." He said in a concerned voice. Eren had never been like this before.

"I-I know Levi... I just don't want it to be just a joke anymore... " He now looked directly into the other's eyes and leaned closer to Levi still.   
"I'd like us to... take the next step in our relationship."

Levi hadn't realised how sweaty his palms had gotten until he suddenly lost his grip on the kitchen counter and fell backwards.

"Oh shit Levi! Are you okay?" Eren exclaimed.

"Y-yep, yep I'm good. Nothing to worry about." He said regaining his balance.

"If you don't want us to do it, then it's fine. Forget it Levi." Eren said going right back on topic.

The raven shook his head smiling. "Why wouldn't I want to? You just took me by surprise since I've never really given it much thought. Not that you're not insanely beautiful and drive me crazy every day but I've barely  just got used to speaking with someone on a daily basis let alone living with them.  Now you're asking me to do... things. Wonderful and exciting things with you and I don't know if I'll be rubbish at them or I just won't be good enough to pleasure you--"

Eren cut Levi off with his lips effectively stopping him before he could say anything (more) embarassing.

"Levi, don't overthink this..." He whispered and kissed him again.  "...okay?"

The raven had by then forgotten what he had been saying so he immediately gave into Eren’s alluring words.

"After all... didn't you say dinner was gonna be about thirty minutes?" Eren asked, a cheeky smile spreading across his face.

"Well technically we have about twenty now... wait you stayed upstairs  without saying hello to me but you listened to my voicemail?" Was Levi's amused answer.

"I mean... I was going to come downstairs but then you started saying these really sweet things and..." Eren ended his sentence with a blissful sigh.

"Oh?" Levi said slipping a hand under his boyfriend’s shirt, tracing the warm skin there and settling on one of Eren's already perked nipples. "You like it when I say sweet things to you?" He asked, his voice dropping several octaves.

Eren shivered a little and started rubbing himself against Levi, wanting  for the man to do something more than simply caress him.

"I-I... yes. Gets me all riled up, knowing that I've pleased you." He said through heavy breaths and continued his torturous rolling of hips .

Levi felt the room temperature rise to about a billion degrees and prayed to God his brain wouldn't condense right at that moment.

Their mouths found each other once again, but there was nothing sweet about this kiss as it rapidly turned into a heated makeout session, filled with lip biting, teeth clashing and Eren having too much fun when sucking on Levi’s tongue.

Soon the brunette's legs were being hoisted up and wrapped around Levi's waist.

"Let's go upstairs." The raven said huskily after sucking a hickey onto the younger's Adam's apple.

"No, no I wanna do it here." Eren whimpered

Levi almost dropped him on his ass.

"...here?"

"Yes, up against the wall or... imagine me all sprawled out on the island counter, wouldn't that be sexy?"

"But wouldn't you be more comfortable if--"

"Fuck, Levi you can screw me like a gentleman later in our bed. Right now I really need you." He brought Levi's hand onto his achingly hard erection and the raven completely lost it.

Eren soon found himself on the island counter with Levi getting rid of all his clothing.

And then Eren remembered something. In the heat of the moment he had completely forgotten the green laced panties he'd bought for Levi as a birthday present and was currently wearing

"Holy shit Eren."

The raven bent down to lick along Eren’s clothed length and mouthed at the dripping head, making the man underneath him moan shamelessly.

"You are delicious, I want to taste every part of you.~"

He slid two fingers under the silky material only to find a hard nub where Eren entrance was supposed to be.

He gave the brunette a questioning look.

"I wanted to be ready for you." His boyfriend replied almost too sweetly.

He immediately took off Eren's panties, freeing his cock and wrapping his hand around it, teasing the tip with his thumb and smearing the pre cum. Eren mewled and leaned his head back onto the kitchen surface.

"I'm going to make you feel so good Eren. You deserve it. You're brilliant, gorgeous and hard working. The most loving person I know. I want to spoil you rotten, get down on my knees and obey your every wish."

Eren ground his ass back into Levi’s erection and moaned. "Then just take me already."

Levi pressed back into Eren, giving him a couple pumps to his cock and saying in a low voice, "If that's what you desire."

He dropped his pants and boxers, giving his proud erection a few strokes while looking at Eren through heavy lidded eyes.

The brunette's breath hitched as Levi took out the but plug finding that it was covered in lubricant just as Eren’s entrance was.

Thank God he had thought of everything.

Well apart from a condom but he had recently went for a check up and had been declared clean so he really didn't want Levi to dress up for the occasion.

The raven took the object in his mouth and licked it clean before setting in aside. Strawberries, Eren really did plan this all too well.

"You know, I really shouldn't be having desert before dinner~" He said in a low tone.

Eren smirked, his head lolling back, ready and waiting for Levi to enter him.

Levi mentally prepared himself  for a brief moment before pushing his cock in slowly. The sound Eren made was mind numbingly hot, and Levi couldn’t help but let out a low moan of his own.

"Fuck that was sexy." He commented as he gripped Eren’s hips.

Did he, Levi Ackerman, actually just say the word sexy?

The brunette shuddered and adjusted himself to Levi’s size. "Mmh you... fill me up so well~"

"Ready for more?"  
He asked more to himself rather than Eren and the other nodded frantically.

Levi threw Eren’s legs over his shoulders, hoping that the position would allow him to get in deeper and began to start thrusting into him. He was slow and gentle at first, allowing Eren stretch out and get comfortable, but when he felt Eren begin to rut against him he started moving faster.

Eren ground back onto Levi’s cock whimpering and moaning and trying desperately to grab onto something.

"Fuck, Levi!"He shouted once the raven hit his sweet spot dead on. "God… Faster… More… Harder, I need you, I need…"

The room was filled with the sounds of skin slapping on skin, small grunts and curses while Eren lost himself, moaning wantonly and calling out Levi's name.

Somewhere in the midst of if all, Eren reach out out for Levi and the other pushed the hand back down on the counter, intertwining their fingers.

The raven felt himself close to the edge and wrapped his other hand around Eren’s dick to pump him to his orgasm.

The high pitched moan Eren made brought him to release himself inside of his boyfriend, letting him have all of it. Eren soon followed shooting cum all over his stomach.

Levi stood in place, hovering over Eren as he hardly stood on his own two feet.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, looking into each other's eyes as they came down from their high.

"So... h-how about that dinner then?"

~

From the Eve of Christmas a year ago, many things had changed. 

Levi grew to recognise what the people around him did for him and made sure to repay them whenever he could. 

He realised that he was not alone and that he did have a family. The man made sure to look after his nephew, Farlan, in whatever way he could as his sister had once looked after him. It did seem in fact that Farlan's father had changed and Levi found himself relieved that Farlan had a step-mother loving and kind (and also an amazing cook).

Back at work, Levi had given his secretary, Eren, a raise only to be pleasantly surprised eight months later when the boy flew up the ranks to become one of the managers of the company. Although still bothered by Hanji at times, the raven learned how to detach himself from work sometimes and learn to have fun. The employees threw parties whenever they had the chance to and Levi didn't object. In fact, he raised the budget for these parties which left Jean especially happy and able to buy all the ridiculous decorations he wanted- his boyfriend, Armin, however, much preferred the DIY crafts he found online.

Armin's medical bills were no problem after Eren's raise and promotion and the blonde managed to disprove the hospital staff by making rapid developments in his health. He was able to walk around with crutches after just three months and is currently working towards being able to walk down the aisle at Levi and Eren's wedding (which he absolutely insists will happen one day). We are extremely happy to say that Armin did not only read the first 50 Shades of Grey novel but is now onto the third book on the series and currently in a fictitious relationship with the title man himself.

Mikasa finally learned to accept Levi after a while of seeing how good he was to Eren. She allowed herself, through Armin's insistence, to become less protective of the brunette and live her own life. She settled into one job which she was passionate about and began working up the ranks quickly. She is just about considering giving some attention to a certain businessman's nephew who seems to be pining for her.

Although Eren had tried to resist, as soon as he realised he could trust Levi, he found himself falling in love all over again. This time, Levi made sure to be careful with Eren and love him like the boy deserved to be loved. It was cautious at first but then the two started a romantic relationship and Levi found himself happy and in love again like he thought he'd never be. 

Levi and everyone around him found themselves happier as time went on. A change of character made all the difference to them. Divine intervention did help, of course, but it is we as people who made the past, live the present and build the future.

And with that we draw our tale to a close, but by no means do we draw to a close the spirit of the season. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~~
> 
> And that's a wrap folks, we hope you enjoyed the story and we also thank you for being patient with this last chapter. @Chubs_Unicornio (on wattpad) wasn't feeling well so go give her lots of hugs and kisses.
> 
> And lastly here's a message from her to all of you:
> 
> Why, hello there, good people~
> 
> Author number two here, @Chubs _Unicornio.
> 
> On behalf on both @FraBee and myself, we hope you enjoyed this fic and thank you for your support! And, hey, if you're late reading this then hey, thanks to you too for having a year-round festive spirit ^-^.
> 
> The both of us have worked very hard on this fic, even if we are a little unorganised and everything was complete chaos at times (we were probably just hit so deeply with Yuri!!! on Ice feels)  but in the end it turned out okay and we hope you think so too.
> 
> Biggest thanks ever to @FraBee who let me work with her and make this amazing idea a reality. As a person who rarely has enough commitment to finish something, I am so so grateful for all her hard work and help. Give this girl some love, she is soooooo cool.
> 
> Overall, I have enjoyed writing this lil' story and working together to make something great and I really from the bottom of my heart hope you enjoyed this.
> 
> Thanks guys~
> 
> -Chubs_Unicornio
> 
>  
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